Comrade-in-arms shot a soldier after drinking alcohol together: court overturned the Ministry of Defense's refusal to pay the family
The Chernihiv District Administrative Court concluded that the mere fact of a serviceman being intoxicated is not sufficient grounds to deny his family members a one-time financial assistance. For this, the Ministry of Defense must prove that the actions of the serviceman committed while intoxicated were the direct cause of his death.
The court recognized as unlawful and canceled the decision of the Ministry of Defense commission to refuse assistance to the widow of the deceased serviceman and obliged the ministry to reconsider her application taking into account the legal conclusions set out in the court’s decision.
Case circumstances
The wife of a senior sergeant who died in November 2024 during military service applied to the court. She requested to cancel the decision of the Ministry of Defense commission that denied her one-time financial assistance and to oblige the ministry to reconsider her application.
It was established that the serviceman served under mobilization, held the position of sanitary instructor of a mechanized battalion, and repeatedly took direct part in defense measures of Ukraine in the Donetsk region.
As established by the verdict of the Zhovtovodsk City Court of Dnipropetrovsk region, on the night of November 15, 2024, at the temporary deployment location of the unit, two servicemen consumed alcoholic beverages together. A verbal conflict arose between them, after which one of the servicemen took the AKS-74U automatic rifle assigned to him and opened fire on the senior sergeant. The victim died from the wounds received. Thus, the direct cause of death was intentional murder committed by another serviceman.
Expert examination confirmed that at the time of death the deceased was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication.
Why the Ministry of Defense refused payment
The Ministry of Defense commission referred to Article 16-4 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" and Procedure No. 975.
The ministry considered that the death of the serviceman falls under the exceptions provided by Article 16-4 of Law No. 2011-XII, since he was intoxicated, consumed alcohol during service, which is an administrative offense, and therefore the family has no right to one-time financial assistance.
Court’s position
The Chernihiv District Administrative Court did not agree with this position.
The court noted that Article 16-4 of Law No. 2011-XII and Procedure No. 975 provide cases when one-time financial assistance is not assigned, in particular if the death of the serviceman is a consequence of his administrative or criminal offense or actions while intoxicated.
At the same time, these provisions do not mean that the mere fact of a serviceman being intoxicated automatically deprives his family members of the right to payment.
The court emphasized that to refuse assistance, it is not enough to establish only the fact of intoxication. It is necessary to prove that the actions of the serviceman committed in such a state were the direct cause of his death.
In this case, the court proceeded from the fact that the direct cause of death was intentional murder committed by another serviceman. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense did not provide proper and sufficient evidence that the actions of the deceased while intoxicated caused his death.
In fact, the court confirmed that the application of Article 16-4 of Law No. 2011-XII requires establishing a causal link between the state of intoxication of the serviceman and his death. The mere fact of being intoxicated is not an unconditional basis for denying family members one-time financial assistance.
This conclusion corresponds to the legal position of the Supreme Court, set out, in particular, in rulings dated June 29, 2022, in case No. 640/6477/19 and March 18, 2024, in case No. 120/13997/21-a.
The court also emphasized that one-time financial assistance has a compensatory nature and is aimed at material support of the family members of the deceased serviceman after the loss of the breadwinner.
Court decision
The Chernihiv District Administrative Court partially satisfied the claim in case 620/1280/26. The court recognized as unlawful and canceled the decision of the Ministry of Defense commission refusing one-time financial assistance, obliged the Ministry of Defense to reconsider the widow’s application taking into account the legal assessment set out in the court decision, and also recovered 1,331.20 UAH of court fees from the Ministry of Defense in favor of the plaintiff.
At the same time, the court did not oblige the Ministry of Defense to directly assign the one-time financial assistance. The issue of its assignment should be decided by the ministry itself after reconsidering the application in light of the conclusions set out in the court decision.
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