Verkhovna Rada allows soldiers to return to service after they go AWOL for the first time

The Verkhovna Rada has passed a bill allowing servicemen who have been AWOL or deserted for the first time to return to service on a voluntary basis.

On Thursday, November 21, 253 MPs voted in favor of the relevant draft law No. 12095.

MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced this.

According to the adopted draft law, during martial law, the contract is extended for those servicemen who first arbitrarily left military units or places of service or deserted and then voluntarily arrived at the place of service and expressed their readiness to continue it.

Such servicemen will resume receiving their salaries, food, clothing, and other types of support, benefits, and social guarantees.

The document also stipulates that criminal proceedings initiated under Articles 407 and 408 of the Criminal Code against servicemen are not grounds for refusing to extend their military service and their contract.

The document also establishes a procedure for allowing voluntary return to service without delays caused by lengthy court or investigative proceedings.

“The unit commander must inform the VSP (ed. – Military Law Enforcement Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine) in writing no later than 72 hours after the arrival of such servicemen. But this is only a one-time permit. This is a chance for those who went AWOL to return to the unit,” MP Iryna Herashchenko explained.

In August, the Verkhovna Rada abolished criminal liability in some cases for soldiers who left their unit without permission for the first time and later returned and were allowed to continue their service by their commanders.

Moreover, you can return not only to your own unit but also to another. However, this may only take place with the consent of their commander and only once.

Going AWOL and desertion

The Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine regulates the commission of a crime in peacetime and defines going AWOL as unauthorized leaving the place of service without the commander’s permission or failure to report on time without valid reasons for up to ten days. It provides for the imposition of fines and arrest on a serviceman.

At the same time, the Criminal Code regulates the punishment for committing a crime under martial law and defines the punishment for going AWOL for more than three days. It assumes imprisonment for a term between 5 and 10 years. The Criminal Code also has a separate article for desertion, which assumes a sentence of imprisonment for a term between 5 and 12 years.