Desertion in Ukraine: When Will Military Personnel Face Charges After Just 72 Hours?.

Ukraine's Full-Scale War and the Issue of Unauthorized Absence from Duty

According to Novyny.live: Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been locked in a brutal war. In this high-stakes environment, unauthorized absence from a military unit—known as AWOL or desertion—is treated as a grave offense that carries criminal penalties. Under Ukrainian law, service members who abandon their posts can be prosecuted.

Criminal cases for desertion are opened against soldiers who fail to report for duty without a valid excuse. According to the legal standard set out in Part 5 of Article 407 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, a key factor is whether the absence lasts more than three days. As legal expert Yuriy Ayvazyan explains,

“the offense begins not when the three days have passed, but from the moment the serviceman was supposed to be at the unit and did not show up”

Procedure for Returning AWOL Soldiers

On June 21, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense published a formal procedure for reintegrating soldiers who have been classified as absent without leave. The goal is to streamline the return process and ensure service members fulfill their obligations. Ayvazyan further notes,

“for criminal qualification under Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine during martial law, it is important that such absence lasts more than three days”

The phenomenon of desertion poses a serious challenge to military discipline during wartime. Authorities are taking steps to enforce duty compliance and prevent such violations.

This situation underscores the urgent need to maintain strict military discipline in a war where every soldier must carry out their responsibilities. Measures adopted by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, including the return algorithm, could ease the problem and help bring troops back to their posts. However, for these initiatives to succeed, they must be paired with a broad information campaign to educate service members about the severe consequences of abandoning their units.