Draft bill #11322 of June 6, 2024 

Cosponsors: a group of 16 MPs from the Servant of the People, Holos, and Batkivshchyna factions with Serhii Ionushas as the first signatory 

Status: adopted in the first reading 

Who is affected: service members, courts, prosecution bodies, investigators, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other military units 

Summary: 

  • it will be allowed to exempt an individual who committed their first unauthorized departure from a military unit or desertion during martial law from criminal liability if they voluntarily informed the investigator or prosecutor about their intention to return to the military unit or place of service before the end of the pre-trial investigation, and the unit commander consents to allow them to continue their service 
  • service members will be considered part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military unit and bear military service obligations if: 
    • the court has imposed a service restriction, detention at a military prison, or detention in a disciplinary battalion and they arrived at the military unit to continue their service 
    • during mobilization and/or martial law, the court has imposed a fine on them or they have been exempted from criminal liability under a surety bond or due to change of circumstances, expiration of limitation periods, or released from serving a sentence because of amnesty or probation, and they arrived at the military unit to continue their service 
    • the court has decided to close the criminal proceedings and exempt them from criminal liability for unauthorized departure from a military unit or desertion because these individuals committed a crime for the first time and arrived at the military unit to continue their service 
  • for these service members, military service and contract terms continue, payment of monetary allowances and provision of food, clothing, and other types of support resume from the day of arrival at the military unit 
  • from the day of suspension from military service to the day of its continuation, payment of unpaid monetary allowances, provision of unpaid food, clothing, and other types of support, and the extension of benefits and social guarantees established by Ukrainian legislation for service members are not carried out. 

What is right: the bill introduces the legal mechanisms for the return of service members who have been subject to certain penalties or against whom criminal proceedings have been closed and who have been exempted from criminal liability. 

What is wrong: 

  • consent from the commander cannot be a deciding factor for the application or non-application of exemption from criminal liability, as it is a subjective factor, and the commander cannot be endowed with the right to determine whether to exempt an individual from criminal liability 
  • the option to exempt from criminal liability an individual who during martial law first committed unauthorized departure from a military unit or desertion will contribute to an increase in the number of such offenses and negatively impact the motivation of service members to serve 
  • the intention of the individual who committed a criminal offense to serve in the military during mobilization and martial law is not taken into account. When applying for early release and exemption from criminal liability, the individual should express their intention to continue military service. 

Alternative solution: 

  • to remove the option of exemption from criminal liability for an individual who during martial law first committed unauthorized departure from a military unit or desertion 
  • to grant the right for an individual who committed a criminal offense to express their intention to continue military service during mobilization and martial law. 

How to help the legislator: proposals concerning the draft bill can be sent to the Law Enforcement Committee of the Verkhovna Rada.