Conditional punishment instead of imprisonment may be introduced for some military personnel for unauthorized leave

Ukraine may reconsider its approach to punishing unauthorized leave of military units for certain categories of servicemen.

A new legislative initiative provides for the possibility of applying probationary release from punishment to mobilized military personnel who participated in combat operations related to the defense of Ukraine. At the same time, it is proposed to maintain the current criminal liability approach for contract servicemen.

The initiative is explained by the large number of criminal proceedings regarding unauthorized leave and the need to take into account the combat experience of servicemen who participated in the defense of Ukraine.

Thus, a draft law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine Regarding Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances When Applying Punishment for Unauthorized Leave of a Military Unit in Relation to Servicemen Who Participated in Combat Operations Related to the Defense of Ukraine" has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

The draft law proposes to amend the Criminal Code provisions on liability for unauthorized leave of a military unit or place of service and to provide the possibility of applying conditional punishment for a certain category of servicemen.

Proposed changes to Article 75 of the Criminal Code

One of the key changes is the adjustment of Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which regulates probationary release from punishment.

Currently, this possibility does not apply, in particular, to crimes under Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The draft law proposes to exclude Article 407 from this list, which will open the possibility of applying conditional punishment in relevant cases.

Proposed changes to Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The document provides for a new wording of Article 407 of the Criminal Code.

At the same time, the main sanctions for unauthorized leave of a military unit depending on the duration of absence generally remain unchanged.

In particular:

• for servicemen of basic military service absent for more than three days but not more than a month — detention in a disciplinary battalion for up to two years or imprisonment for up to three years;
• for other servicemen absent for more than ten days but not more than a month, or for repeated violations within a year — a fine, service restrictions, or imprisonment for up to three years;
• for absence of more than one month — imprisonment from two to five years.

The article also proposes to replace the term "conscript serviceman" with "serviceman of basic military service."

Different rules proposed for contract servicemen and mobilized personnel

The draft law effectively separates liability for unauthorized leave for contract servicemen and servicemen serving non-contractually.

For contract servicemen, it is proposed to keep the current punishment approach.

Thus, for unauthorized leave or failure to appear for service for more than three days during a special period, except martial law, imprisonment from three to seven years will be provided.

For unauthorized leave in a combat situation or under martial law, contract servicemen will face imprisonment from five to ten years, as is currently the case.

Proposals for mobilized combatants

The key innovation of the draft law concerns servicemen serving non-contractually who participated in combat operations related to the defense of Ukraine.

It is proposed to provide them with the possibility of probationary release from punishment according to Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In particular, for unauthorized leave or failure to appear for service for more than three days during a special period, except martial law, it is proposed to establish punishment in the form of imprisonment from one to three years with probation.

In case of such actions in a combat situation or under martial law, imprisonment from two to three years with probationary release from punishment is proposed.

Thus, mobilized servicemen who participated in combat operations will be able to claim conditional punishment even in cases where the law currently provides for actual imprisonment.

Reasons for proposing changes to the punishment approach

As of October 2025, during the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, 311,327 criminal proceedings were opened regarding unauthorized leave of military units and desertion.

Of these, about 255,000 cases concerned unauthorized leave, and about 56,200 — desertion.

A significant portion of these cases involves servicemen who participated in combat, risking their lives and health, but due to exhaustion or other circumstances could not continue service.

Purpose of the draft law

The purpose of the legislative initiative is to change the approach to applying punishment for unauthorized leave of military units concerning citizens who participated in combat operations related to the defense of Ukraine.

To this end, it is proposed to differentiate approaches to liability for contract servicemen and mobilized servicemen and to give courts the opportunity to apply probationary release from punishment to mobilized combatants.

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