The Court of Appeal Cancelled the Decision to Declare a Missing Soldier Dead

The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal satisfied the appeals of the father and wife of the serviceman who went missing during a combat mission in Donetsk region and cancelled the local court's decision to declare him dead. This was reported by the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal.

The soldier's mother filed a petition to declare her son dead. According to her, her son went missing in July 2024 while performing a combat mission in Donetsk region. The house where he was located was destroyed due to enemy fire. Search efforts yielded no results, and molecular-genetic examinations conducted did not allow identification of the remains recovered from the rubble.

The petitioner stated that declaring her son dead was necessary to receive legally prescribed payments and to arrange inheritance.

The Khmelnytskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region granted the petition, declaring the serviceman dead, indicating that he died in July 2024 while performing military duty to defend Ukraine in the city of Toretsk, Donetsk region.

The father and wife of the serviceman filed appeals requesting the cancellation of this decision and denial of the petition. In their opinion, the court of first instance did not consider that active hostilities in the area of the soldier's presumed death are ongoing, and therefore the six-month period prescribed by law for declaring him dead has not yet begun.

The Court of Appeal noted that according to part 2 of article 46 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a person who went missing due to military actions or armed conflict may be declared dead by the court after two years from the end of hostilities, or, considering specific circumstances of the case, before 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 person's presumed death (ruling of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated December 11, 2024, case No. 755/11021/22).

The Court of Appeal pointed out that according to the List of territories where hostilities are or 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, the Toretsk city territorial community was a territory of active hostilities from February 24, 2022, to August 6, 2024, and from August 7, 2024, to the present remains a territory of active hostilities where state electronic information resources operate.

"Thus, the city of Toretsk in Donetsk region, where the serviceman went missing during a combat mission, is still considered a territory of active hostilities, and therefore the six-month period for declaring him dead has not started. This fact excludes the legal possibility of declaring him dead and indicates the premature nature of the submitted petition," the Court of Appeal stated.

The full text of the ruling in case No. 686/27873/25 will be available in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

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