Payment in connection with the death of a serviceman: why some families receive 15 million and others — 2 million

Ukrainian legislation guarantees families of deceased servicemen a one-time financial assistance of 15 million hryvnias. Such payment is provided by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 168. The basis for the right to assistance is the date of death of the person during martial law, which is indicated in the death certificate.

Who has the right to payments

The right to assistance arises in the event of the death of a serviceman during martial law, as well as in the case of death due to wounds, concussion, injury, or disability related to the defense of the state, if it occurred no later than one year after receiving the respective wound, concussion, injury, or disability.

Specifically, the right to compensation belongs to:

• children, including adopted children, conceived during the lifetime of the deceased person and born after their death, as well as children whose parental rights were terminated with respect to the deceased person during their lifetime;
• widow or widower;
• parents (adoptive parents), if they were not deprived of parental rights or their parental rights were restored;
• grandchildren of the deceased person, if at the time of their death their parents died;
• a person who lived together with the deceased without being married, if this fact is confirmed by the court;
• dependents defined according to the Law of Ukraine "On pension provision for persons released from military service and some other persons".

At the same time, if one of the recipients refuses their share, this amount is distributed equally among the remaining family members. The refusal must be notarized (abroad – at the Ukrainian consulate).

Application for assistance must be submitted no later than three years from the date of the death record. In cases where the serviceman went missing under special circumstances or was declared missing by court and later declared dead by court decision, the application for assistance is also submitted no later than three years from the date of the death record.

Previously, the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" wrote about how to collect evidence for compensation from the state. We add that Ukrainian legislation provides several legal procedures to confirm a person's death or grant them the status of deceased. One such mechanism is establishing the fact of death through court proceedings.

What documents are needed to arrange compensation

Family members must apply to the district (city) Territorial Recruitment Center regardless of registration place and submit:

• an application for one-time financial assistance;
• identity document;
• document of the RNOKPP (identification code) or passport number for persons who refused to obtain it for religious reasons;
• death certificate of the serviceman;
• document confirming family ties with the deceased serviceman, namely:
• for wife/husband — marriage certificate;
• for child — birth certificate;
• for parents — birth certificate of the deceased;
• for dependents — document confirming dependency;
• consent to the processing of personal data;
• certificate of criminal liability, absence or presence of convictions or restrictions provided by the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine, or a full extract from the information-analytical system "Record of information about bringing a person to criminal liability and the presence of convictions";
• decision of the local state administration, executive body of the local council, or court on establishing guardianship or custody over an orphan or a child deprived of parental care (for legal representatives of minor children of the deceased);
• court decision that has entered into legal force regarding the appointment of one-time financial assistance (if available).

However, issues of legal guarantees and payments related to the death of a serviceman often become the subject of court disputes. In such cases, courts usually rely on established and stable practice of their resolution.

As of June 2026, the State Register of Court Decisions contains over 500 court decisions concerning disputes regarding the appointment of one-time financial assistance in connection with the death of a serviceman. Not all of them have positive decisions in courts of first or appellate instance; some cases reach the Supreme Court. However, this indicates that families of deceased servicemen have to prove their guaranteed rights in courts.

Such disputes usually concern defining the circle of recipients of one-time financial assistance, as well as establishing grounds for its appointment, particularly the presence of a causal link between the death of the serviceman and participation in combat operations or military service.

For example, in case No. 440/6725/23, the Cassation Administrative Court of the Supreme Court concluded that a child of a deceased serviceman, conceived during the father's lifetime and born after his death, belongs to the circle of persons entitled to one-time financial assistance in connection with the death of a serviceman.

According to the case, the child's mother applied to the territorial recruitment center with a request for one-time financial assistance in connection with the death of the child's father. However, she was refused on the grounds that the child was born after the serviceman's death. The applicant appealed the refusal in court. Courts of first and appellate instances partially satisfied the claim, stating that the mere fact of the child's birth after the father's death cannot be grounds for depriving the child of the right to a share of the one-time financial assistance. The Supreme Court agreed with this approach and confirmed that such assistance is compensatory in nature and aimed at supporting family members of the deceased.

The court emphasized that excluding a child from the circle of recipients solely because of their birth date contradicts the content and purpose of the law on social protection of servicemen.

As the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" wrote, in the ruling dated May 29, 2026, in case No. 300/1031/25, the Supreme Court in the composition of the Cassation Administrative Court considered a dispute regarding the payment of one-time financial assistance to the mother of a deceased serviceman, who was awarded 2,013,000 UAH instead of 15 million UAH.

The court recalled that according to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 168, one-time assistance of 15 million UAH is paid to families of deceased servicemen and is distributed equally among all recipients defined by Article 16-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On social and legal protection of servicemen and their family members".

Such payment is provided in case of death of a serviceman due to wounds, concussion, injury, or disability received while defending the homeland during martial law, if death occurred no later than one year after receiving the respective injury. In case of death of a serviceman for other reasons, including illness, a different amount of one-time financial assistance applies — in this case 2,013,000 UAH.

15 million or three times less

We add that the right to one-time financial assistance of 15 million UAH according to the Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 168 formally arises in case of death of a serviceman. At the same time, the situation remains controversial when death did not result from combat injury but from illness that could have developed during the performance of duties defending the homeland.

In such cases, the decisive factor is the conclusion of the post-mortem military-medical commission. If the MMC establishes that death is related to military service, this usually entitles to payment provided by Cabinet resolution No. 975 in the amount of 750 times the subsistence minimum. Conversely, a conclusion that death is related to defense of the homeland may be grounds for appointment of one-time assistance of 15 million UAH according to resolution No. 168.

Thus, the difference between these formulations has not only legal but also significant financial importance, as it can affect the payment amount by several million hryvnias.

Currently, commissions deciding on payments mostly take the position that in cases of death due to illness, there are no grounds for payment of 15 million UAH. At the same time, judicial practice shows there is a discussion about this approach: the legal position that automatically excludes the right to 15 million UAH in case of death from illness is controversial and requires further review. The decision of the respective judicial panel will have precedent value and become mandatory for similar cases in the future.

In view of this, the Cassation Administrative Court by ruling No. 620/10029/24 referred disputed issues regarding the difference between payments (under Resolution No. 975 in the amount of 750 subsistence minimums and 15 million UAH under Resolution No. 168) to the Judicial Panel for Social Rights Protection of the Cassation Administrative Court to form a unified legal position.

Updated 15.06.2026

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