For insulting a serviceman — a fine of 68 thousand hryvnias, for threats — 12 years imprisonment: what punishments are threatened

In Ukraine, responsibility for insulting, humiliating the honor and dignity of servicemen, as well as for threats against them, may be significantly increased. Several legislative initiatives have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada that propose punishing such actions both administratively and criminally.

While one of the bills provides fines from 3,400 hryvnias and administrative arrest up to 15 days, another allows punishment of up to 12 years imprisonment.

At the same time, some proposals have already raised concerns among parliamentary experts, who pointed out risks of excessive criminalization and possible problems with the application of the new norms. So far, none of the initiatives have become law.

For insulting a serviceman, a fine of up to 5,100 hryvnias or administrative arrest is proposed

In September 2023, bill No. 10014 "On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses Regarding Certain Issues of Strengthening the Legal Protection of Servicemen" was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

The document proposes to supplement the Code of Administrative Offenses with a new article 185-16 "Disrespect to a Serviceman".

Administrative offenses are proposed to include:

• public insult of a serviceman;
• offensive harassment of a serviceman;
• other intentional actions that violate public order and hinder the serviceman's exercise of his rights and freedoms.

For such actions, the bill's author proposes penalties in the form of a fine from 3,400 to 5,100 hryvnias, community service, corrective labor, socially useful work, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

The explanatory note states that the need for changes arose due to numerous cases of conflicts with military personnel, refusals to provide legally prescribed benefits, and other manifestations of disrespect towards those who defend the state.

As of today, bill No. 10014 is still being worked on in the parliamentary committee.

Experts saw risks to the principle of legal certainty

The Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada Apparatus expressed a number of comments on the bill.

In particular, experts noted that the concept of "insult" is evaluative and subjective, and therefore may not comply with the principle of legal certainty. The conclusion also states that some of the acts proposed to be covered by the new article are already provided for by current administrative or criminal legislation.

Separately, the department pointed out that the bill does not specify the authorities entitled to draw up protocols under the new article, which may create difficulties in practical application of the norm.

For insulting a serviceman, up to 5 years imprisonment was proposed

In June 2025, bill No. 13384 was registered in parliament to improve the procedure for criminal liability for insulting the honor and dignity of a serviceman and threatening a serviceman.

The author noted that the current article 435-1 of the Criminal Code is located in the section on military criminal offenses. In his opinion, this raises questions about the possibility of holding civilians accountable who insult or threaten servicemen.

To solve this problem, the bill proposed to exclude article 435-1 from the section on military crimes and move it to the section on criminal offenses against the authority of government bodies, effectively preserving the current content of the norm.

The bill provided criminal liability for:

• insulting the honor and dignity of a serviceman;
• threatening with murder;
• threatening with violence;
• threatening destruction or damage to property;
• manufacturing and distributing materials with such threats or insults.

For all these actions, the same punishment was proposed — restriction of liberty or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

The relevant committee recommended rejecting the initiative

The Main Scientific and Expert Department questioned the very appropriateness of criminalizing insults to the honor and dignity of servicemen.

The conclusion reminds that when the Criminal Code was adopted in 2001, the legislator consciously refused criminal liability for insults, as such acts do not reach the necessary level of social danger. Instead, protection of honor and dignity is ensured by civil law mechanisms, including the right to refute false information and compensation for moral damage.

Experts also noted that respect for servicemen should be formed primarily through social and educational mechanisms, not only through criminal prosecution.

After reviewing the document, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement recommended rejecting bill No. 13384.

An alternative bill provides for a fine up to 68 thousand hryvnias and up to 12 years imprisonment

After the registration of the main bill, an alternative initiative — bill No. 13384-1 — was submitted to parliament.

Unlike bill No. 13384, the alternative document does not simply move the current norm to another section of the Criminal Code but creates a new article 345-2 "Threat or violence against a serviceman and insult to his honor and dignity".

For insulting the honor and dignity of a serviceman or his close relatives, as well as for manufacturing or distributing materials with such insults, a fine from 17 thousand to 68 thousand hryvnias, community service from 120 to 240 hours, corrective labor, probation supervision for up to three years, or restriction of liberty for one to three years is proposed.
For threatening a serviceman or his close relatives with murder, violence, or destruction of property, punishment by restriction of liberty for three to five years or imprisonment for the same term is proposed.

Intentional infliction of bodily harm of light or moderate severity provides for punishment of up to seven years imprisonment.

For serious bodily injury to a serviceman or his close relatives, punishment in the form of imprisonment for five to eight years is proposed.

If such actions are committed repeatedly or by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, the sanction may be from eight to twelve years imprisonment.

The law enforcement committee supported the alternative bill

The authors of the bill argue that current legislation does not provide sufficient protection for servicemen from threats and humiliation by civilians. Therefore, they propose creating a separate criminal offense with a general subject of liability.

At the same time, the Main Scientific and Expert Department noted that the proposed model may lead to duplication of Criminal Code norms and create additional problems during investigation of such cases by various law enforcement agencies.

Despite this, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement supported bill No. 13384-1 and recommended the parliament adopt it as a basis in the first reading.

What is the current status of the bills

As of mid-2026, none of the proposed initiatives have become law.

Bill No. 10014 on administrative liability for disrespect to a serviceman is at the committee review stage.

The main criminal bill No. 13384 awaits consideration by the Verkhovna Rada, but the relevant committee has already recommended rejecting it.

At the same time, the alternative bill No. 13384-1 also awaits parliamentary consideration, but it currently has the support of the Committee on Law Enforcement.

Thus, two models of protecting servicemen from insults and threats are effectively being discussed in the Verkhovna Rada — an administrative one with fines from 3,400 hryvnias and arrest up to 15 days, and a criminal one, which provides punishment from a fine of 17 thousand hryvnias up to 12 years imprisonment.

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