The Territorial Recruitment Center blocked the path to 15 million UAH for the 27-year-old son of a deceased serviceman: documents did not reach the Ministry of Defense

The Volyn District Administrative Court clarified the scope of authority of territorial recruitment centers during the processing of one-time financial assistance to families of deceased servicemen. The court emphasized that the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) cannot independently assess whether the applicant is entitled to the payment and on this basis withhold documents from the Ministry of Defense. Its duty is to prepare a conclusion and forward the materials to the Ministry of Defense, which makes the final decision on granting or denying the payment.

Circumstances of the case

The plaintiff is an adult son of a serviceman who died in May 2023 while performing a combat mission near Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region. The serviceman’s death was officially recognized as related to the defense of the homeland.

After the serviceman’s death, his wife, mother, and son applied for one-time financial assistance provided by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168. Assistance was granted to the wife and mother, but the son’s documents were returned for revision by the Ministry of Defense commission in 2024.

In January 2026, the plaintiff resubmitted an application for assistance, citing amendments to Article 16-1 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," effective from March 29, 2024. However, the TRC did not prepare a conclusion or forward the documents to the Ministry of Defense, justifying this by the applicant’s failure to provide documents confirming his dependency on the deceased father. The applicant was notified of this by letter dated January 26, 2026.

Defendant’s position

The defendant stated that at the time of the serviceman’s death, Article 16-1 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" provided the right to one-time financial assistance for adult children only if they were dependents of the deceased.

Since the plaintiff was 27 years old at the time of his father’s death and did not submit documents confirming dependency, the TRC considered there were no grounds to forward the documents to the Ministry of Defense.

Court’s remarks

The court noted that the legislation defines a clear procedure for processing documents for one-time financial assistance.

According to Procedure No. 45, district and regional TRCs accept documents, verify them, prepare a conclusion, and forward the materials to the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry of Defense, as the main budget administrator, is authorized to decide on granting, denying, or returning documents for revision.

The court emphasized that the TRC is not empowered to independently decide on granting or denying assistance. Its function is to prepare a conclusion and forward documents to the Ministry of Defense.

The court found that the defendant failed to fulfill its duty to properly prepare and forward the documents, thus committing unlawful inaction. The TRC was obliged to prepare the plaintiff’s submitted documents, draft the appropriate conclusion, and forward them to the Ministry of Defense, which should decide on granting or denying the one-time financial assistance.

Court decision

The Volyn District Administrative Court fully satisfied the claim.

The court recognized the TRC’s inaction regarding failure to prepare a conclusion and forward documents to the Ministry of Defense as unlawful. The court also obliged the TRC to reconsider the application, prepare a conclusion, and forward the documents to the Ministry of Defense in accordance with Procedure No. 45. Additionally, 1,331.20 UAH of court fees were recovered in favor of the plaintiff.

The court in case 140/3270/26 did not decide on whether the plaintiff is entitled to receive the one-time financial assistance.

The dispute concerned solely the legality of the TRC’s actions. The court concluded that the territorial recruitment center was obliged to prepare a conclusion and forward the documents to the Ministry of Defense, as the Ministry is the body authorized to decide on granting, denying, or returning documents for revision regarding one-time financial assistance.

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