The soldier returned but did not report: Supreme Court explains when criminal liability arises
4 June 20:53
A contract soldier may be held liable for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit even if he or she has returned but has not reported his or her arrival to the commander. This is stated in the decision of the Criminal Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court of March 31, 2025 in case No. 295/8165/23, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The judges emphasized that liability under Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code occurs in case of late reporting for service without valid reasons after being outside the unit. Even if the soldier returned but did not report his arrival and did not start performing his duties, this is also considered an offense.
The defendant in the case is a paratrooper who failed to report to his temporary deployment point on June 18, 2022, without the permission of his command. He was off duty until June 22, 2023, after which he reported to the SBI investigation department in Zhytomyr, thus completing the crime.
In June 2023, the Bohunskyi District Court of Zhytomyr found him guilty and sentenced him to 5 years in prison. At the same time, the court released him from serving his sentence with a probationary period of one year.
In July 2024, the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal overturned the suspended sentence and issued a new decision – 5 years in prison.
The defense asked the cassation court to overturn these decisions and order a new trial. In addition, the convict applied for release from liability on the grounds of his intention to return to service.
The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal and upheld the verdicts of the previous instances.
