In October, courts in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn, Zakarpattia and Ternopil regions issued about a hundred decisions not to imprison soldiers who left their military unit for the first time on their own, but to allow them to return to service.
The press service of the State Bureau of Investigation reports this.
100 soldiers who went to the Special Operations Department will return to service
Thus, in Lviv, a court made a corresponding decision regarding a soldier who left his military unit in the Donetsk region without permission this spring.
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During the pre-trial investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation established the location of the serviceman and detained him. Then the man was informed of the suspicion of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit under martial law (Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The man explained his actions by the fact that he had been on the front lines for a long time and simply could not handle the workload. However, he said that he regretted what he had done.
Considering the fact that the serviceman had unauthorizedly abandoned a military unit for the first time and was ready to continue serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the court, on the basis of Part 5 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ruled to release him from criminal liability.
Another case occurred at the end of October, when a court in the Volyn region released from criminal liability a serviceman who, in the fall of 2023, voluntarily left a military unit stationed in Volyn.
The man repented of his actions and received written consent from the commander of the military unit to reinstate him in service. Based on this, the court decided to release him from criminal liability.
The State Bureau of Investigation once again reminded that unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service, without good reason, committed in combat circumstances, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years.
However, those who find themselves in such a situation for the first time have a chance to return to duty.
Recall that in August 2024, the Rada supported bill No. 11322, which removes liability for the first unauthorized abandonment of a military unit (SZCh) or desertion. However, this happens on condition that the serviceman independently returned to the unit and the commander allowed him to continue serving.
