Nearly a thousand Ukrainians who finished criminal sentences in Russian prisons are now being held indefinitely in Russian detention centers. The Russian Defense Ministry recruiters press them to sign army contracts to fight against Ukraine as the practical way out, the Russian independent outlet Important Stories (IStories) reported
The way out that the recruiters offer is enlistment. The development fits the framing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used this week, when he said Russia's potential for hidden mobilization is exhausted and that "political decisions of another format" should be expected, Euromaidan Press reported.
1,000 Ukrainians are held in inhumane conditions with only one way out
Human-rights defenders estimate that at least 1,000 Ukrainians are in these facilities, some held for months or years without any real progress in the deportation procedure.
Former detainees describe overcrowded cells, scarce medical care, hygiene problems, restricted communication, and the absence of basic therapy for chronic illnesses.
The contract offers, they said, are systematic and come to be seen as one of the only practical exits from the centers, held out under conditions of psychological pressure and open-ended detention that, in their words, leaves them with no real choice.
"You'll be stuck here indefinitely"
Serhiy Rasputnyi, 48, served a 13-year sentence for murder in Russia. He was released in October 2024, Mediazona reported, and transferred immediately to the migration detention center in Tambov.
He and other Ukrainians there, he said, were persistently pressured by Russian security officials to enlist, with the choice spelled out plainly, according to Mediazona.
"You won't be leaving here. You have two options: either go to war, or you'll be stuck here indefinitely," he recalled being told.
The same population has been functioning as an exchange resource. When Mediazona investigated the "1,000-for-1,000" prisoner swap of May 2025, it found that the Ukrainian civilians Russia returned were largely men exactly like Rasputnyi — ex-prisoners already due for deportation and held in migration detention. Meanwhile, POWs, including Azov Brigade fighters, were not included.
These centers were designed as pre-deportation holding facilities. The war has turned them into something else. The men inside have months or years of detention extensions behind them, no realistic deportation ahead, and a standing offer to walk out by signing up to fight against their own country.
