The Russian military-industrial sector is highly likely to resort to the use of convict labor in an attempt to meet production needs in wartime. This is reported by the British Ministry of Defense.

In November 2022, Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), the largest Russian tank manufacturer, told local media that after meeting with the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), it would employ 250 prisoners.

Russia has a long tradition of using prisoner labor, but since 2017 forced labor has been reinstated as a form of criminal punishment..

With one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, the FSIN oversees a sprawling empire of over 400,000 prisoners and is often accused of extreme brutality and corruption..

Prisoners provide the Russian authorities with a unique human resource that they can use to support the war against Ukraine, while volunteers are still in short supply.

Convict labor is likely to be particularly in demand by manufacturers of low-tech weapons such as UVZ, which are almost certainly under strong pressure from Moscow to increase production volumes, UK Defense Ministry analysts say..

Latest Defense Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 13 January 2023Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t. co/Jr7a7koW8O? #StandWithUkraine? pic. twitter. com/s9NzHapWmK.

— Ministry of Defense? (@DefenceHQ) January 13, 2023.

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ISW has previously reported that the failure of the Russian military-industrial base to address the shortage of ammunition is likely to hinder the ability of Russian troops to support offensive operations in eastern Ukraine in 2023..