The Ministry of Defense refused the family of a deceased soldier payment due to alcohol, although the cause of death was a stroke
The detection of alcohol in the blood of a serviceman who died of a stroke during military service is not in itself sufficient grounds to refuse his family a one-time financial assistance payment. The Ministry of Defense must prove the existence of a causal link between the state of intoxication, the serviceman’s actions, and the occurrence of death. This conclusion was reached by the Rivne District Administrative Court, which canceled the Ministry of Defense’s decision to refuse payment to the deceased serviceman’s wife.
The court considered the lawsuit filed by the serviceman’s wife against the Ministry of Defense, which refused to grant her a one-time financial assistance payment following her husband’s death during military service. The refusal was based on the fact that a forensic toxicological examination revealed ethyl alcohol in the soldier’s blood at a concentration of 1.02 per mille.
Case circumstances
The plaintiff is the wife of a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who served in a military unit. In May 2024, he died during military service. According to the forensic medical examination, the cause of death was brain edema and subarachnoid hemorrhage from the left middle cerebral artery, i.e., an acute cerebrovascular accident (hemorrhagic stroke).
The military unit removed the serviceman from the personnel list due to death related to the performance of military duties. The military medical commission established a causal link between the disease that led to the serviceman’s death and his military service. The service investigation report also stated that the death was related to the performance of military duties, the serviceman was not at fault, and no violations of military discipline or the requirements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine statutes were found.
After her husband’s death, his wife applied through the territorial recruitment and social support center for a one-time financial assistance payment.
However, the Ministry of Defense commission refused the payment. The ministry cited the presence of ethyl alcohol in the deceased’s blood and noted that drinking alcoholic beverages or performing military service while intoxicated is an administrative offense. According to the Ministry of Defense, this excluded the right of family members to receive one-time financial assistance.
What the court established
The court noted that the law indeed provides cases when one-time financial assistance is not granted, particularly if the serviceman’s death is a result of committing an administrative offense or actions while intoxicated.
At the same time, the court emphasized that the restriction provided by Article 16-4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" applies only when it is proven that death occurred precisely due to the serviceman’s behavior while intoxicated, not merely due to the formal detection of such a state.
The court stated that to refuse payment, it is necessary to establish an objective causal link between intoxication, the serviceman’s behavior, and the occurrence of death. This link is decisive when resolving the issue of the right of family members to one-time financial assistance.
The court noted that this approach aligns with the legal conclusions of the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly emphasized that the mere fact of a serviceman being intoxicated is not an independent ground for refusal to grant one-time financial assistance to his family members.
Why the court found the refusal illegal
The court found that the medical certificate identifies the cause of death as subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain edema. The service investigation report states that there is no information about the serviceman being intoxicated with alcohol or drugs, and it is recorded that the serviceman was not at fault, and no violations of military discipline or Armed Forces statutes were found. Furthermore, the service investigation concluded that the death was related to the performance of military duties.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense did not provide any evidence confirming a causal link between the serviceman’s intoxication, his behavior, and the occurrence of death. The defendant also did not prove that the serviceman was held administratively liable under Article 172-20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine.
Under these circumstances of case 460/5532/26, the court concluded that the Ministry of Defense did not prove legal grounds to consider the serviceman’s death a consequence of an administrative offense or his behavior while intoxicated, and therefore the refusal decision was made without proper legal justification.
What the court decided
The Rivne District Administrative Court partially satisfied the claim.
The court recognized as unlawful and canceled the decision of the Ministry of Defense commission refusing to grant one-time financial assistance to the deceased serviceman’s wife.
At the same time, the court did not obligate the Ministry of Defense to directly assign and pay the assistance. The court noted that it did not verify the presence or absence of other possible grounds for refusal provided by law. Therefore, the proper way to protect the violated right was determined to be a reconsideration of the application and submitted documents taking into account the legal conclusions set out in this decision.
The court also ordered the Ministry of Defense to pay the plaintiff 1,331.20 UAH in court fees.
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