When the family of a deceased serviceman can be denied a payment of 15 million UAH — explained by the Supreme Court
If a serviceman died from an illness, even one related to the defense of the Fatherland, this alone is not grounds for a one-time financial aid payment of 15 million UAH, as provided by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168. It is necessary to establish a causal link between the death and wounds, concussion, injury, or disability sustained during the defense of Ukraine. This conclusion was reached by the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court.
Case circumstances
The lawsuit against the Ministry of Defense was filed by the serviceman's wife, who also acted in the interests of her sons.
Her husband was mobilized in March 2022 and carried out combat missions in the Donetsk region. At the end of July 2022, he died while in the combat zone.
According to medical documents, the immediate cause of death was cardiovascular failure caused by hypertensive disease. At the same time, the military medical commission established that the illness that led to the serviceman's death was related to the defense of the Fatherland.
The Ministry of Defense commission granted the wife and two sons a one-time financial aid according to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 975 — in the amount of 750 times the subsistence minimum, which at the time of death amounted to 1,860,750 UAH, distributed among the family members.
The plaintiff believed that the family was entitled to the payment provided by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 in the amount of 15 million UAH, since the death occurred during martial law, and the military medical commission established a causal link between the illness and the defense of the Fatherland.
What the courts decided
The court of first instance agreed with the plaintiff's arguments, canceled the Ministry of Defense's decision, and obliged the ministry to reconsider the issue of granting one-time financial aid taking into account the court's conclusions.
However, the Third Administrative Court of Appeal overturned this decision and denied the claim. The appellate court concluded that paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 168 provides for a payment of 15 million UAH only in the event of the death of a serviceman or his death causally linked to wounds, concussion, injury, or disability sustained during the defense of the Fatherland.
Position of the Supreme Court
The Administrative Cassation Court left the appellate court's ruling unchanged.
The Supreme Court applied the legal conclusion of the Judicial Panel for Social Rights Protection Cases of the Administrative Cassation Court, formulated in the ruling dated June 16, 2026, in case No. 620/10029/24.
The court emphasized that the provisions of paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 168 must be applied in systemic interrelation with the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" and cannot be interpreted separately from this law.
The Supreme Court also noted that the military medical commission's conclusion about the connection of the illness with the defense of the Fatherland or military service itself is not an unconditional basis for a one-time financial aid payment of 15 million UAH.
Furthermore, the court pointed out that the term "death," as used in paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 168, has an independent legal meaning and does not cover every case of a serviceman's death during martial law or while performing military duties.
At the same time, the Supreme Court stressed that a serviceman's death resulting from illness does not by itself exclude the right to receive a one-time financial aid payment of 15 million UAH. Such a right may arise if medical documents confirm that the death, regardless of the immediate clinical mechanism, is causally linked to wounds, concussion, injury, or disability sustained during the defense of the Fatherland.
Separately, the Supreme Court noted that it applied a new legal approach formulated by the Judicial Panel in case No. 620/10029/24. In this regard, the court disagreed with conclusions set out in its own rulings dated July 17 and August 22, 2024, according to which paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 168 also applied to cases of servicemen's death from illness related to the defense of the Fatherland. The panel indicated that such conclusions were not based on the correct application of legal norms.
Why the Supreme Court denied the claim
In case 160/22825/25, the courts established that the serviceman died from cardiovascular failure, and the military medical commission confirmed the connection of the illness that caused death with the defense of the Fatherland.
However, the case materials did not contain evidence that the death was causally linked specifically to wounds, concussion, injury, or disability sustained during combat missions.
Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's conclusion that there were no grounds for applying paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 168 and paying the one-time financial aid of 15 million UAH.
At the same time, the court noted that family members are not deprived of the right to social protection, since in this case one-time financial aid is subject to appointment in accordance with Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" and the Procedure approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 975.
Therefore, the Supreme Court left the cassation appeal without satisfaction and the ruling of the Third Administrative Court of Appeal unchanged.
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