Went to SVC for a whole year. The court imposed a sentence on a resident of Bukovina.

Citizen Igor M. received five years of imprisonment for desertion. However, the accused was convicted of desertion. This is stated in the material from 'Gromadske': 'Deserter or 'went to SVC'? The courts found a universal punishment for those who fled from war.'

Thus, Igor M. was mobilized in March 2023. As his ex-wife told in court, just a month later, while returning home with a child after visiting her sister, she found her ex-husband at home. He stated that he had gone to SVC.

It is noted that Igor M. lived with his ex-wife and child for the whole year, went to work, and earned money for the family. The accused's stepmother informed the court that her stepson 'came home, did not hide from anyone, worked.' Until, a year later, on April 3, 2024, he was detained by law enforcement.

Ultimately, the Novoselytsky District Court of Chernivtsi region deprived Igor M. of liberty for five years and one month. The accused was convicted of desertion.

Statistics on desertion and unauthorized departure from military service

Recall that the resource 'Opendatabot' published a study: in 10 months of this year, law enforcement opened 19,922 criminal proceedings for desertion. Only in 3% of cases this year was a suspect handed over, and only in 1.3% of cases the case reached the court.

In addition, due to unauthorized departure from military service (SVC), this year 41,950 criminal proceedings were opened - twice as many as for desertion. At the same Time, cases regarding SVC are investigated more effectively: suspects were identified in 13% of cases, while 7% reached the court.

Penalties for unauthorized departure and desertion

The concepts of 'unauthorized departure from military service' and 'desertion' are very similar. In the Criminal Code, they also appear next to each other. In particular, Article 407 'Unauthorized departure from a military unit or place of service' provides for punishment (in wartime) - from five to 10 years of imprisonment. Article 408 'Desertion' is more severe - from five to 12 years in prison.

Possibility of returning to service after unauthorized departure from military service

By the way, the 'Army+' app now has the option to submit a report to return to service after unauthorized departure from military service (SVC). Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada adopted law No. 12095 on voluntary return to service for those who have left military units or deserted for the first time.

It later became known that the military who left their units for the first time began to return to the front.