The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported in the first reading draft law No. 11322, which provides for the possibility of returning to service of military personnel who voluntarily left their unit or deserted. This decision was announced by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
According to the department's explanation, the bill provides for exemption from criminal liability for those military personnel who have voluntarily left their unit for the first time and are ready to return to service. Violators will need to independently contact an investigator or prosecutor, and their intention to return to the unit must be approved by the commander.
Deputy Defense Minister Natalia Kalmykova explained that there is currently a need to create a system to regulate the situation with the return to service of servicemen who voluntarily left the unit. According to her, many such individuals wish to return to the army, and for this, conditions should be created that would allow them to do so.
“We must provide such individuals with the opportunity to return to the army and provide them with appropriate conditions for continued service,” Kalmykova noted.
According to the explanatory note to the bill, from January to April 2024, pre-trial investigation bodies registered more than 17 thousand criminal cases under Articles 407 (unauthorized abandonment of a military unit) and 408 (desertion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Currently, the current legislation does not allow for the exemption from criminal liability of persons who have committed a first-time offense and are ready to return to a military unit.
People's Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko, who supported the bill, believes that voluntary abandonment of a unit and desertion is a serious problem that concerns not only those who do not want to serve, but also those who were forced to leave the unit under pressure from circumstances. “We need to give these people a chance to return to normal life and continue to defend the country,” Honcharenko noted.
Conditions for exemption from criminal liability
According to the draft law, exemption from criminal liability is possible only under certain conditions:
1. The person committed an offense during martial law for the first time.
2. The person applied to the investigator or prosecutor before the completion of the pre-trial investigation with the intention to return to the military unit.
3. The unit commander provided written consent to continue service.
Olga Marko, an expert from the NGO “Legal Hundred,” noted that this decision should be voluntary. She also emphasized that exemption from criminal liability is possible only until the completion of the pre-trial investigation. After its completion, the opportunity to use this provision will be lost.
Not all military personnel agree that desertion and desertion are serious problems. Former commander of Aidar, Yevhen Dyky, notes that there are many reasons why soldiers leave their units, including personal problems or conflicts with their commander. He also believes that commanders, taking into account the circumstances of the escape, make decisions at their own discretion.
The bill is currently in its first reading stage. During the preparation for the second reading, proposals and amendments may be submitted that could change the final version of the document.
