The Ministry of Defense wanted to pay aid to the family of a deceased serviceman in installments over three years: the court recognized this as illegal

The First Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed that the Ministry of Defense has no right to apply phased payment of a one-time financial aid to family members of servicemen if the right to such payment arose before the entry into force of the Ministry of Defense Order No. 45 dated January 25, 2023.

The court upheld the decision of the first instance, which recognized the application of the phased payment mechanism to the father of the deceased serviceman as unlawful and obliged the payment to be made in a single payment.

The panel of judges emphasized that the right to receive one-time financial aid arises on the day of the serviceman's death. If at that time the legislation did not provide for payment in installments, the state cannot apply the norms that came into force later to such legal relations.

Circumstances of the case

The plaintiff is the father of a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman who died on January 15, 2023. In execution of previous court decisions, the Ministry of Defense commission in May 2025 assigned him one-time financial aid calculated as one-fourth of the total amount of 15 million UAH, i.e., 3.75 million UAH. At the same time, taking into account previously assigned payments, the recalculated amount was determined to be 2.49 million UAH.

However, in fact, the plaintiff received the funds in parts. In his opinion, the Ministry of Defense unjustifiably applied the phased payment procedure, due to which a significant part of the due amount remained unpaid. That is why he turned to the court.

The Donetsk District Administrative Court agreed with his arguments and recognized the actions regarding the application of the phased payment procedure as unlawful. The court also obliged the payment of aid in a single payment without applying clause 1.10 of Order No. 45, taking into account the payments already made.

The Ministry of Defense appealed this decision. In the appellate complaint, the ministry stated that the aid had already been paid to the plaintiff according to the current procedure, and therefore there were no grounds to satisfy the claim. The Ministry of Defense also referred to Order No. 45, which provides for phased transfer of funds to recipients of one-time aid.

Why the court disagreed with the Ministry of Defense

The key issue in the case was determining the legislation applicable to the disputed legal relations.

The appellate court noted that according to the legislation and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168, the right of family members to receive one-time aid arises on the day of the serviceman's death. In this case, that day is January 15, 2023.

At the same time, Ministry of Defense Order No. 45, which introduced the phased payment mechanism, came into force only on January 31, 2023. This document provided that initially one-fifth of the assigned amount is paid, and the rest in equal parts over the next 40 months.

The panel of judges emphasized that as of the date of the serviceman's death, the current legal regulation did not provide for installment payment of one-time aid. Therefore, Order No. 45, which came into force later, cannot be applied to the disputed legal relations.

The court referred to Article 58 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the practice of the Constitutional Court regarding the principle of the irreversibility of the effect of normative legal acts in time. According to this principle, new rules cannot apply to rights and legal relations that arose before their entry into force.

The appellate court also noted that this approach is consistent with the legal position of the Supreme Court set out in the ruling dated November 12, 2025, in case No. 200/5272/24.

What the court decided

The First Administrative Court of Appeal in case 200/8373/25 concluded that the court of first instance correctly established the circumstances of the case and correctly applied the substantive law.

As a result, the Ministry of Defense's appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Donetsk District Administrative Court remained unchanged. Thus, the decision obliging the authorized body of the Ministry of Defense to pay the plaintiff the assigned one-time financial aid in a single payment without applying the phased payment mechanism provided for in clause 1.10 of Order No. 45, taking into account the payments already made, remained in force.

The appellate court's ruling has entered into legal force.

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