MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities expect that the law allowing convicts to enlist in the military signed earlier by President Vladimir Zelensky will bring an additional 15,000 people into the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces, the country's Justice Minister Denis Maliuska said in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to him, at the first stage about 5,000 convicts are expected to join the Ukrainian army; this number could triple "under the best of circumstances." The Ukrainian armed forces commanders have already started to visit colonies and prisons in search of troops, Maliushka noted.

The justice minister said that 2,872 people have already been released from detention after putting in their requests. Thousands more have applications pending. Meanwhile, 368 convicts were denied for health reasons.

Maliuska claimed that the first released prisoners have already been sent to training centers, where they are undergoing training that will last at least two months. They are going to be sent to the front line by the end of summer, he added.

Zelensky signed the law allowing the mobilization of prisoners into the Ukrainian armed forces on May 17. According to the document, only those convicted of crimes against the foundations of national security or related to terrorism, murder of two or more people, murder committed with particular cruelty or in combination with rape, violation of traffic rules while intoxicated if it caused the death of several people will not be subject to mobilization. Rapists, pedophiles and persons convicted of particularly serious corruption crimes, murder of a law enforcement officer or a serviceman are also excluded.

Maliuska has long promoted the idea of mobilizing prisoners. He initially said that this would allow the army to recruit 50,000 more troops, but later he lowered his forecasts to 20,000. The justice minister also explained that the country's authorities decided to adopt the law on involving prisoners in military service because of some complications and understaffing of the Ukrainian armed forces.