The Court of Appeal Cancelled the Decision to Declare a Soldier Dead: What Is the Reason

The son of a serviceman from Khmelnytskyi region applied to the court with a request to declare his father dead. He explained that his father, a senior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, went missing on January 15, 2024, during a combat mission to guard a position between the settlements of Ivanivske and Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region. This was reported by the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal.

The police are conducting a pre-trial investigation on this matter. Currently, there is no information about the whereabouts of the serviceman. According to the son, since his father went missing under circumstances that threatened his life, he should be declared dead. This is necessary to exercise inheritance rights, as well as property and non-property rights of the family member of the deceased serviceman.

The Shepetivka City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region granted the application and declared the serviceman dead. The place of death was determined as the area between the settlements of Ivanivske and Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region, where he participated in combat and performed tasks to defend the homeland.

The military unit where the missing serviceman served appealed the decision, requesting its cancellation and denial of the application, considering it premature.

As a result of the appellate review, the court satisfied the appeal: it canceled the local court's decision and adopted a new one refusing the application to declare the serviceman dead.

The panel of judges noted that according to part 2 of article 46 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a person who went missing in connection with military actions or armed conflict may be declared dead by the court after two years from the end of the military actions, and considering the specific circumstances of the case – before the expiration of this period, but not earlier than six months.

The six-month period should be counted from the day active hostilities ended in the area of the probable death of the person (ruling of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated December 11, 2024, case No. 755/11021/22).

The Court of Appeal noted that according to the List of territories where hostilities are conducted (were conducted) or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, approved by the order of the Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine dated December 22, 2022, No. 309, effective from December 27, 2022, to March 20, 2025, active hostilities in the territory of the settlement Ivanivske in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region began on February 24, 2022, and had not ended as of March 20, 2025, while in the territory of the settlement Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region, hostilities first began on February 24, 2022, and ended on January 23, 2023, then resumed on September 18, 2023, and have not ended to date.

Also, according to the List of territories where hostilities are conducted (were conducted) or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, approved by the order of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine dated February 28, 2025, No. 376, effective from March 20, 2025, active hostilities in the territory of the settlement Ivanivske in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region began on February 24, 2022, and ended on February 18, 2025, while in the territory of the settlement Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region, hostilities first began on February 24, 2022, and ended on January 23, 2023, then resumed on September 18, 2023, and have not ended to date.

Since active hostilities in the area of the settlement Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk region, where the applicant's father went missing, have not ended, the Court of Appeal considers that there are no legal grounds to declare him dead.

The full text of the Court of Appeal ruling in case No. 688/5563/25 can be found in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

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