REUTERS
Donbas militants are engaging former convicts to serve in their illegal armed formations, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
"Due to the recruitment of former convicts to the 1st and 2nd army corps, the crime situation in the temporarily occupied territories of eastern Ukraine continues to deteriorate," the report says.
Earlier, the intelligence agency said that the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) had threatened to severely punish local residents for protests against DPR leader Zakharchenko's "appointments of personnel."