As a soldier in Ukraine’s Presidential Brigade, Volodymyr Barandich protected the country’s head of state in the perilous early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, when Russian special forces were under orders to kill or capture Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Then an old drugs charge caught up with him. In December Barandich was convicted of distributing narcotics and sentenced to four to eight years behind bars.
But thanks to a new law that makes thousands of Ukraine’s convicted felons eligible for early release if they enlist in the army, Barandich may once again be able to serve his country and get a shot at redemption.
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