NWC cases: courts allow hundreds of servicemen to return to service instead of imprisonment
Kyiv • UNN
In October, Ukrainian courts issued about 100 rulings not to imprison military personnel for AWOL. The decisions concern five western regions where the military were allowed to return to duty.
In October, Ukrainian courts in cases of temporary abandonment of the place of service issued about 100 decisions not to imprison the military, the State Bureau of Investigation reported, UNN reported.
Courts in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions have issued about a hundred decisions not to imprison military personnel but to allow them to return to service
In particular, the Frankivsk District Court of Lviv ruled on a serviceman who, in March 2024, arbitrarily left the location of a military unit in Donetsk region.
During the pre-trial investigation of the criminal proceedings, SBI officers established the whereabouts of the military and detained him.
The man was served a notice of suspicion of unauthorized leaving of a military unit under martial law (Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The soldier explained that he had been on the front line for a long time and simply could not withstand the load, but regretted his actions.
"Taking into account that the serviceman committed such an offense for the first time and is ready to continue his service, the court ruled to release him from criminal liability under Part 5 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the SBI said.
At the end of October, the Volodymyr-Volyn City Court of Volyn Oblast released from criminal liability a serviceman who had left his military unit in Volyn without permission in November 2023. However, the man reportedly repented of his actions and received a written consent from the commander of the military unit to reinstate him in service. Therefore, the court ruled to release him from criminal liability, the bureau said.
The SBI also emphasized that unauthorized leaving of a military unit or place of service without valid reasons committed in combat circumstances is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, those who find themselves in such a situation for the first time have a chance to return to the army without conflict with the law.
