After a year of treatment, a serviceman was stopped from receiving 100 thousand hryvnias: when this is illegal
The Second Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed the right of a wounded serviceman to receive an additional reward of up to 100,000 UAH during inpatient treatment after the expiration of 12 months of continuous treatment. The court concluded that the mere expiration of this period does not deprive the serviceman of the right to payment provided by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 if the military medical commission has established the need for prolonged treatment after a severe injury.
Case circumstances
The dispute arose after the military unit stopped calculating and paying the additional reward of up to 100,000 UAH to the serviceman who continued inpatient treatment after a severe injury. The military unit believed that after 12 months of continuous treatment, the law does not provide grounds for further payment of this reward. The serviceman challenged this in court.
The plaintiff suffered a mine-explosive injury and severe shrapnel wounds while performing a combat mission near Novokalynove, Donetsk region. As a result of the injury, his right lower limb was amputated, after which he underwent prolonged treatment and rehabilitation in Ukrainian medical institutions, and since May 2024 — at the Central Academic Hospital in Utrecht (Kingdom of the Netherlands).
In May 2024, the military medical commission recognized the injury as severe and noted that the serviceman requires prolonged treatment abroad and further prosthetics. No specific date for the completion of treatment was indicated in the commission’s conclusion.
Nevertheless, after the completion of 12 months of treatment, the military unit stopped paying the additional reward and suspended all types of support from December 5, 2024, citing paragraph 11 of Article 10-1 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," which provides that the total time of continuous treatment of a serviceman with retention of monetary and material support cannot exceed 12 consecutive months.
The Poltava District Administrative Court recognized the military unit’s inaction as unlawful and obliged it to calculate and pay the serviceman the additional reward for the period from December 5, 2024, to February 28, 2025. The military unit appealed this decision.
What the appellate court decided
The Second Administrative Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and left the decision of the first instance court unchanged.
The court noted that Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 does not contain restrictions on the maximum duration of payment of the additional reward of up to 100,000 UAH to servicemen who, after injury related to the defense of the Fatherland, are undergoing inpatient treatment or are on leave for treatment after a severe injury according to the military medical commission’s conclusion.
The panel of judges emphasized that the right to such payment arises under two conditions: the injury must be related to the defense of the Fatherland, and its severity must be confirmed by the military medical commission’s conclusion. In this case, both conditions were confirmed by proper evidence.
The appellate court also distinguished the provisions of Resolution No. 168 and paragraph 11 of Article 10-1 of Law No. 2011-XII. According to the court, the statutory limitation of 12 months of continuous treatment does not automatically terminate the right to the additional reward. The military medical commission’s conclusion on the need for prolonged treatment is grounds for extending the period of the serviceman’s treatment with retention of monetary and material support.
The court separately noted that the absence of a specific treatment completion date in the military medical commission’s conclusion does not deprive the serviceman of the right to payment. In cases of severe injuries, the commission may only determine the need for prolonged treatment without specifying an exact end date.
At the same time, the panel took into account the legal conclusions of the Supreme Court set out in rulings dated May 15, 2024, in case No. 520/16191/23 and November 27, 2024, in case No. 380/20587/23, which concern the application of Resolution No. 168.
Court’s position on the military unit’s obligation
The appellate court in case 440/6202/25 concluded that after fulfilling all the conditions provided by law, the military unit had no discretionary powers regarding the payment of the additional reward.
According to the court, the only lawful option was to calculate and pay the serviceman the additional reward provided by Resolution No. 168, up to 100,000 UAH proportionally to the days of inpatient treatment for the period from December 5, 2024, to February 28, 2025. For this reason, the court recognized the military unit’s inaction as unlawful and upheld the decision obliging it to make the appropriate calculations and payments.
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