UN expert says prisoners sent by Russia to fight in Ukraine are committing crimes when they return

GENEVA — A UN-backed human rights expert who monitors President Vladimir Putin’s Russia expressed horror Monday at the rise in violence in the country, fueled by former prisoners who served their sentences or were pardoned to fight in Ukraine and then return home to commit crimes including rape and murder.

Mariana Katzarova, who monitors human rights in Russia under a mandate from the UN-backed Human Rights Council, said the return to Russia of former criminals who now have clean records contributes to more domestic violence.

The phenomenon first created last year among returning fighters, but Katzarova noted that pardons and shorter sentences in Russia for prisoners who agree to fight in Ukraine went into effect in Russia in March.

Katzarova told reporters that an estimated 170,000 convicted violent criminals have been recruited to fight in Ukraine.

“Many of those who return – and this is an emerging trend – begin to commit new violent crimes against women, girls and children, including sexual violence and murder,” she said in Geneva, where the council is holding its fall session.

“This has increased, the violence against women in Russia, which is already at a very high level with thousands of women dying every year as a result of domestic violence,” she said. “There is no law in Russia that clearly criminalizes domestic violence or gender-based violence.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine is in its third year, and the Kremlin has been scrambling to replenish its forces there. In 2022, authorities mobilized some 300,000 troops in a partial call-up, and human rights groups and media also reported an effort to recruit prisoners held across the country. Initially, the recruitment was carried out by the Wagner mercenary group, but then the Russian Defense Ministry took over, according to activists and media reports.

In March, the Russian parliament passed a law allowing authorities to release convicted criminals from prison if they enlist in the military and sign a contract with the Defense Ministry.