MP: There is no mass desertion in the army

In the first reading, the Verkhovna Rada supported a draft law that allows a person to be released from criminal liability for the first unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or desertion. This measure aims to reduce the burden on the judicial system and simplify the mechanism of reinstatement. Additionally, cases of AWOL and desertion are rare in the army.

This was stated by MP Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, on Hromadske Radio.

“The essence of the draft law is that servicemen who have left their military unit without permission or committed desertion for the first time may be released from criminal liability in accordance with the established procedure and will be able to continue their military service without a criminal record,” Venislavskyi said.

According to him, criminal proceedings are currently registered for each instance of unauthorized abandonment of a unit or desertion. Then, a pre-trial investigation begins, a court verdict is announced, and the serviceman can continue to serve like other people with a criminal record, in accordance with the adopted legislative changes.

“To ensure that a person does not have a criminal record, at the request of the serviceman and with the consent of the commander of the relevant military unit and the prosecutor or investigator, such a serviceman may be returned to service without a criminal record,” explained the MP.

He noted that people leave military service without permission for various reasons, both more and less justified. Accordingly, commanders will be able to support or reject the removal of a serviceman’s criminal responsibility. Nevertheless, cases of AWOL and desertion are rare in the army, Venislavskyi said:

“AWOL and desertion do not occur on a massive scale and do not pose a threat to national security. It happens within the statistical error.”