A soldier deserted his unit and is asked to repay 6,916 hryvnias in military pay. What was the court's decision?

A man unlawfully left his military unit. He was dismissed from his position and is being asked to return the paid monetary allowance in the amount of 6,916 hryvnias. This is stated in the decision of the Kalush City District Court of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, published on May 1, 2023.

According to the order of the commander of the military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine Western Operational Territorial Association No. 43 dated February 26, 2022, the soldier was included in the personnel lists of the military unit and was enlisted for military service during mobilization in accordance with the Presidential Decree of Ukraine dated February 24, 2022, No. 69/2022, and was assigned to the position of a rifleman of the 2nd section of the 2nd rifle platoon of the 2nd rifle company starting from February 26, 2022. According to the order of the commander of the military unit dated March 15, 2022, the soldier was granted additional assistance in the amount of 30,000 hryvnias for the period from March 1 to March 31, 2022. According to the order of the commander of the military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine Western Operational Territorial Association No. 77 dated March 31, 2022, the soldier unlawfully left the military unit as of March 26, 2022, and was excluded from all types of support. According to the order of the commander of the military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine Western Operational Territorial Association No. 91 dated April 14, 2022, the soldier was relieved of his duties and assigned to the reserve as of April 13, 2022. By the verdict of the court dated July 21, 2022, which has entered into legal force, he was found guilty of committing a criminal offense as stipulated by Article 407, Part 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and under Article 69 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Based on Part 1 of Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the unserved sentence from the court verdict dated November 26, 2020, was partially joined, and the final sentence based on the aggregate of the verdicts was set at three years and one month of imprisonment.

According to the order of the commander of the military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine Western Operational Territorial Association No. 240 dated September 6, 2022, the soldier was excluded from the personnel lists of the military unit and all types of support as of September 6, 2022. According to reference No. 104 dated March 14, 2022, he was credited and paid a monetary allowance for March 2022 in the amount of 6,960 hryvnias; however, since he unlawfully left the military unit, as of March 26, 2022, he was excluded from all types of support, and he effectively served for only 25 days, which is why, according to the extract from the records dated April 12, 2022, he has a debt for the credited and paid monetary allowance amounting to 1,197 hryvnias. According to the extract from the report No. 144 dated March 16, 2022, he was credited and paid an additional reward for March 2022 in the amount of 29,550 hryvnias; however, since he unlawfully left the military unit, as of March 26, 2022, he was excluded from all types of support for 25 days of military service, leading to a debt for the credited and paid additional reward amounting to 5,719 hryvnias, as per the extract from the report No. 285 dated April 12, 2022. According to the debt repayment calculation, he has a total debt of 6,916 hryvnias. Since he was dismissed from military service according to subparagraph “v” of paragraph 2 of part 4 of Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine on "Military Duty and Military Service," the paid monetary allowance of 6,916 hryvnias is subject to withholding. He has not voluntarily returned the debt.

What did the court decide?

The court granted the claim. The man is to repay the military unit the debt amounting to 6,916 hryvnias.

"Since the defendant has been dismissed from military service in accordance with subparagraph 'v' of paragraph 2, part 4 of Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine on 'Military Duty and Military Service' due to the entry into legal force of the guilty verdict of the court, which imposed a sentence of imprisonment for three years and one month, the paid monetary allowance of 6,916 hryvnias is subject to repayment. Thus, evaluating the evidence collected in the case as a whole, the court concludes that the claim should be granted," the court emphasized.