A soldier forged documents about his wife's disability to be discharged from service: how the court punished him

In Dnipro, the court considered the case of a mobilized serviceman who was discharged from the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to family circumstances by submitting forged documents to the command about his wife being assigned a Group II disability and the need for constant care. After his discharge, he received severance pay of over 24 thousand hryvnias.

Later, law enforcement officers established that the medical documents were fake.

The Amur-Nyzhnodniprovskyi District Court of Dnipro found the soldier guilty of a military crime and fraud but sentenced him to a probation period.

Circumstances of case No. 208/16193/25

A senior soldier serving in an intelligence unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided in 2024 to be discharged from military service during martial law. To do this, he contacted individuals who provided forged medical documents allegedly confirming his wife’s Group II disability and the need for constant care.

Case materials show that after the serviceman’s request, forged MSEC documents and medical commission conclusions regarding his wife’s health condition were produced. Subsequently, a report for discharge from military service due to family circumstances was prepared for him.

On July 9, 2024, the soldier submitted a report to the command requesting discharge due to the need for constant care for his wife with Group II disability and attached forged documents. Based on these documents, the military unit command decided to discharge him to the reserve.

After discharge, the military unit paid him severance pay amounting to 24,050.47 UAH. The court established that the military unit was misled by the submitted documents, and therefore the payment was made without legal grounds. The accused disposed of the received funds at his own discretion, causing property damage to the military unit.

Defendant's position

In the court session, the defendant fully admitted guilt.

He explained that he has been participating in combat operations since 2014 and continued serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine after mobilization in 2022. According to him, after prolonged combat participation and moral exhaustion, he and his wife contacted a law firm whose representatives promised to help with the issue of discharge from military service. Later, he was given documents allegedly confirming his wife’s disability and the need for constant care.

The defendant confirmed that he was aware of the falsity of these documents since his wife was not actually assigned a disability and did not have the diseases indicated in the documents. He also admitted that the severance pay was paid based on forged documents. He voluntarily reimbursed the military unit for the damages caused in the amount of 24,050.47 UAH in full.

Court conclusions

The court concluded that the defendant’s guilt is fully proven and confirmed by his own testimony, which corresponds to the factual circumstances of the case and was not disputed by the parties.

The serviceman’s actions were qualified under Part 4 of Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as evasion of military service duties by forging documents committed under martial law, and under Part 1 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as misappropriation of another’s property by deception.

When sentencing, the court took into account that the defendant had no prior convictions, is a combatant, is positively characterized at his place of service, sincerely repented, actively assisted in solving the criminal offenses, and voluntarily compensated the damages. The court also established that at the time of the case consideration, he was serving under conscription during mobilization in another military unit and performed duties in a drone systems unit.

The court also noted that the defendant has the necessary military training and expressed readiness to continue fulfilling his military duty to defend the state. This combination of circumstances was the basis for the conclusion that his correction is possible without real imprisonment.

Court decision

The court sentenced the defendant to one year of restriction of liberty for fraud and five years of imprisonment for evasion of military service by forging documents under martial law. According to the rules on the concurrence of criminal offenses, the final sentence was set at five years of imprisonment.

At the same time, under Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the court released the convicted person from serving the sentence with a probation period of two years. The court noted that considering the circumstances of the case, the offender’s personality, his behavior after committing the crimes, full compensation of damages, and continued military service, his correction is possible without isolation from society.

During the military service period, supervision over the probation conditions is assigned to the commander of the military unit. If the convicted person is discharged from military service before the probation period ends, such supervision will be carried out by the authorized probation body at his place of residence.

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