The Territorial Recruitment Center decided on its own that the payment of 15 million UAH would not be made and returned the documents to the military widow: the court recognized this as illegal
The Ternopil District Administrative Court concluded that the regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center does not have the authority to independently terminate the review of documents for the appointment of a one-time financial aid provided by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168. Its duty is to prepare a conclusion—either positive or negative—and send the documents to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which makes the final decision on the appointment or refusal of the payment.
Case circumstances
The widow of a serviceman appealed to the court, challenging the actions of the regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center regarding the failure to forward documents to the Ministry of Defense for consideration of the appointment of one-time financial aid due to her husband’s death.
The Staff Sergeant served under contract and died in December 2022. The military medical commission established that the cause of death was acute cardiovascular failure, and the illness that led to death was related to the defense of the Fatherland. After this, the serviceman’s wife applied for the appointment of one-time financial aid under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168.
Initially, the Territorial Recruitment Center did not accept or forward her documents, which led the woman to file a lawsuit. By a previous decision, the Ternopil District Administrative Court obliged the Territorial Center to accept the application, process the documents, and forward them accordingly. After compliance with this decision, the documents were sent to the regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, but it returned them without further processing.
The defendant stated that the serviceman died due to illness, not from wounds, concussion, injury, or disability sustained during the defense of the Fatherland. On this basis, the regional Territorial Recruitment Center concluded that the payment issue should be resolved according to Article 16 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" and Procedure No. 975, not under the procedure provided by Resolution No. 168, and returned the documents without forwarding them to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Court’s remarks
The court thoroughly analyzed the procedure for processing documents for the appointment of one-time financial aid, as defined by Ministry of Defense Order No. 45.
The court noted that after receiving the application, the district Territorial Recruitment Center only accepts the documents and forwards them to the regional Territorial Recruitment Center. The regional center verifies the documents, prepares a conclusion and report, and sends them along with the documents to the Department of Social Security of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
After that, the documents are processed by structural units of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff and submitted to the Ministry of Defense Commission, which decides on the appointment, refusal, or return of documents for revision.
In case No. 500/1429/26, the court emphasized that the legislation imposes on the regional Territorial Recruitment Center only the duty to process the documents and prepare a conclusion regarding the presence or absence of grounds for payment. Such a conclusion may be either positive or negative.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as the main budget administrator, is authorized to make the final decision on the appointment, refusal, or return of documents for revision. This body determines whether there are grounds for appointing one-time financial aid and what type and amount should be paid.
Court: The Territorial Recruitment Center overstepped the Ministry of Defense’s authority
The court stated that by returning the applicant’s documents without preparing a conclusion and without forwarding them to the Ministry of Defense, the regional Territorial Recruitment Center effectively concluded on its own that there were no grounds for payment under Resolution No. 168 and did not forward the documents to the authorized body for the final decision.
Thus, the defendant, lacking the appropriate competence, effectively assumed the functions of the Ministry of Defense Commission and the main budget administrator regarding the decision to grant or refuse one-time financial aid.
The court also noted that the Supreme Court has already expressed a similar legal position, particularly in rulings dated October 2, 2024, in case No. 160/22400/23 and September 11, 2025, in case No. 380/12477/23.
Court decision
The court partially satisfied the claim.
It recognized the actions of the regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center as illegal regarding the failure to prepare and forward the conclusion along with the documents to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The court also obliged the defendant to prepare a conclusion on the payment of one-time financial aid (whether the applicant has the right or not) and send it along with the documents to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for a decision on the appointment or refusal of the one-time financial aid provided by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168.
At the same time, the court did not decide on the presence or absence of the plaintiff’s right to receive one-time financial aid under Resolution No. 168. The court only stated that this issue falls within the exclusive competence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, not the regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.
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