Military personnel who do not return to their units by August 30 face criminal liability.

Military personnel who have left their military unit without authorization and consciously do not return to it by August 30 (inclusive) face criminal liability. The State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) will initiate proceedings.

This was reported by lawyer Serhiy Starenky during a broadcast on .

How they will be punished for unauthorized absence from the unit

Now, criminal proceedings will be initiated for unauthorized absence from the unit. Previously, there was a mechanism for voluntary return without criminal liability for the first unauthorized absence from the unit. According to the lawyer, it was a kind of amnesty.

Often, military personnel used this method if they wanted to transfer to another military unit, but the commander did not sign the report. The principle is as follows: a person leaves the unit without authorization, another unit at this time agrees to accept them for service, and thus the transfer occurs.

Starenky also mentioned that criminal liability will not be applied in all cases. The DBR will investigate the circumstances, as there may be cases where a person simply fell asleep on a bus or train and did not get off at their stop on time, but returned to the unit the next day.

'Punishment will vary: from disciplinary battalions for military personnel to imprisonment, depending on the circumstances and consequences that occurred after the person committed unauthorized absence from the military unit'

Recall that earlier the director of the DBR, Oleksiy Sukachov, reported how many fighters returned from unauthorized absence since November 29 last year. More than 29,000 such military personnel.

It was also reported how to return from unauthorized absence through a simplified procedure.

The State Bureau of Investigations announced that military personnel who do not return to their military unit by August 30 will face criminal liability. Before that, there was the possibility of voluntary return without criminal consequences for the first unauthorized absence from the unit. Now, criminal proceedings will be initiated for such actions. The lawyer also noted that criminal liability will not be applied in all cases, as there may be circumstances when a person simply mistakenly did not return on time due to unforeseen situations.