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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In Ukraine, a proposal to extend until August 2025 year the simplified mechanism for returning deserters and service members from the SZCh
A group of deputies, including the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security Oleksandr Zavitnevych, the head of the Servant of the People faction Davyd Arakhamia, deputies Fedir VeniSlavskyi, Maryana Bezuhla, Oleksandr Fedienko and others, submitted a bill proposing to extend until 30 August 2025 year the effect of the simplified mechanism for returning service members whose military service has been suspended and who left military units or places of service voluntarily or deserted.
According to the initiators, the bill was developed to implement the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine dated 7 March 2025 year No. 14t/VGK regarding extending the operation of the mechanism established by law 4087-IX for service members who left military units or places of service voluntarily or deserted.
The bill aims to repeal the institute of suspending military service for service members who left military units, places of service, or deserted during the period of martial law.
To achieve this, it is proposed to amend part 2 of article 24 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service,” regulating at the legislative level the calculation of years of service and the suspension of payments of monetary allowances to service members who committed SZCh or deserted.
In order to extend the duration of the simplified mechanism for returning service members, the concluding provisions of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” propose replacing the words and digits “1 March 2025 year” with the new term “30 August 2025 year,” and also to extend the operation of the simplified mechanism for returning to service members who committed SZCh or deserted during the period from 29 November 2024 year to the day this new Law comes into force.
The bill also proposes amendments to Article 14 of the Law “On Social and Legal Protection of Service Members and Their Families,” according to which a service member whose service has been suspended, or who during martial law left a military unit or place of service or deserted, will not be entitled to benefits, guarantees, and compensations established by this law.
As the authors of the bill note 13177, from 29 November 2024 year the Law on conditions for extending military service 4087-IX came into force, according to which service members who committed SZCh or deserted until 29 November 2024 year and whose service was suspended were to voluntarily report to the appropriate military units (places of service) by 1 January 2025 year.
Later, the duration of the mechanism was extended until 1 March 2025 year.
Such service members, after arriving at the military unit and expressing willingness to continue service, the commander (supervisor) must restore, no later than 72 hours from the day of their arrival, respective military service, the contract terms, and payment of monetary allowances and other benefits.
This simplified mechanism operated until 1 March 2025 year and concerned service members who committed SZCh or deserted until 29 November 2024 year.
At the same time, a number of “objective and subjective factors” negatively affected the implementation of the provisions of Law No. 4087-IX, resulting in not ensuring full voluntary return of service members of this category.
In particular, the narrowed deadlines for making an important decision about voluntary return became a common reason why service members did not return by 1 March 2025 year.
As the deputies note, this can be added to “gaps in informational policy and recruitment shortcomings.”
Moreover, in the Army+ appendix a function recently started operating that allows a service member to submit a request for restoration to service after leaving the unit on their own.”
After suspension of military service for such service members, payment of monetary compensation is ceased from the day of leaving the unit or place of service and resumes from the day of their return based on departmental regulatory acts.
The years of service do not include the periods of SZCh, and also the periods during which a service member deserted or voluntarily surrendered to captivity.
The fact of suspension of military service prolongs the return of such service members until a court ruling on exemption from criminal liability under part 5 of article 401 of the Criminal Code. This means that suspension of military service only deprives the commander of the possibility to continue the service, and does not allow the service member to return to duties.
Service members whose service was suspended do not belong to the armed forces of Ukraine and other military formations, which during martial law does not significantly affect the situation, since, according to the Law “On the Strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” in a state of emergency it increases by the number of personnel conscripted by presidential decrees on mobilization.
Thus, there is an urgent need to abolish the institute of suspending military service during martial law, as well as to extend until 30 August 2025 year the operation of the simplified mechanism for returning service members whose service is suspended and who left units or places of service voluntarily or deserted.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "В Україні пропонують продовжити до серпня 2025 року спрощений механізм повернення дезертирів та військовослужбовців із СЗЧ". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
