The Court of Appeal Refused to Declare a Soldier Who Disappeared During Fighting in Luhansk Region Dead
The Rivne Court of Appeal reviewed the complaint against the decision of the Rivne City Court, which on February 19, 2026, denied the application to declare a serviceman who went missing during a combat mission in Luhansk region dead. This was reported by the court.
Case Circumstances
The applicant, who is the mother of the common children with the missing serviceman, applied to the court with a request to declare him dead to exercise the inheritance and social rights of the children.
As established by the court of first instance, the serviceman was serving under mobilisation and directly participated in measures to ensure national security and defence, repelling and deterring the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. While holding positions near the settlement of Makiivka in the Svatove district of Luhansk region, the unit came under mortar fire from the Russian armed forces, as a result of which the serviceman went missing. The circumstances and date of disappearance were established by an official investigation report approved by the military unit commander. A criminal case was opened on this fact, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the whereabouts of the person have not been established.
Legal Position of the Courts
In denying the application, the Rivne City Court of Rivne region relied on the provisions of part two of Article 46 of the Civil Code of Ukraine and was guided by the conclusion set out in the ruling of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated December 11, 2024, in case No. 755/11021/22, according to which the six months specified in the second sentence of part two of Article 46 of the Civil Code of Ukraine should be counted from the day active hostilities ended at the location (territory) of the probable death of the individual. This allows providing legal protection to people affected by the war who, due to the probable death of the missing person, have certain civil rights and legitimate interests, and ensures legal justice.
After reviewing the legality and validity of the decision within the arguments of the appeal, the panel of judges of the Rivne Court of Appeal agreed with the conclusions of the court of first instance, noting that the court correctly established the factual circumstances of the case, gave proper legal assessment to the collected evidence, and correctly applied the norms of substantive law taking into account the legal position of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated December 11, 2024, in case No. 755/11021/22.
Since, according to the official List of territories where hostilities are conducted (were conducted), approved by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, the settlement where the serviceman went missing has belonged to the zone of active hostilities from February 24, 2022, until now, both courts reached the same conclusion: the statutory period for declaring a person dead has not yet begun, and therefore the applicant's appeal to the court is premature.
As a result of the appellate review, the court ruled: to leave the appeal without satisfaction and the decision of the court of first instance unchanged.
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