Refused to follow order due to health issues: court in Kharkiv acquits soldier, - media
On 18 August 2025, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kharkiv acquitted a military serviceman who had been charged under Part 4 of Article 402 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with openly refusing to obey an order from his superior during martial law.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper".
The publication states that the court concluded that the defendant had valid reasons for being unable to carry out the order, related to his state of health.
According to the prosecution, the soldier was given a combat order that involved conducting assault operations, setting up engineering fortifications, mining the territory, and fire control of enemy advance routes. However, as the investigators noted, the soldier refused to carry it out in the presence of personnel.
The position of the accused
According to the publication, the soldier did not admit his guilt and explained that he did not refuse the order, but informed the command that he was unable to carry it out due to health problems. He noted that even before the incident, he had undergone a military medical commission, where doctors found him unfit for service in the airborne assault troops due to spinal hernias and complications after an injury.
According to him, despite the diagnoses and recommendations of doctors, he did not receive proper medical care, only painkilling injections. The soldier emphasised that he had carried out other orders, participated in assaults and battles, but this time he was physically unable to carry out the task due to the exacerbation of his illness.
The defender added that during the line-up, the commander allowed those who could not carry out the order to leave the ranks and state their reasons. The defendant did so, citing his state of health.
Evidence in the case
The court examined witness testimony, written documents, medical certificates and audio recordings. In particular, the audio recording confirmed that the soldier had indeed received confirmation from doctors that he was unfit for service in airborne assault units.
It is reported that medical documents confirmed numerous health problems: osteochondrosis, protrusions and hernias of intervertebral discs, chronic lumboschialgia, the effects of concussion, concussion, PTSD. Doctors had recommended limiting physical activity and undergoing additional examinations, which the command did not provide.
Conclusions of the court
The court ruled that:
- the defendant was objectively unable to carry out the order due to serious health problems;
- he reported this to his commander in accordance with the requirements of the Internal Service Regulations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- his actions did not constitute an open refusal to carry out the order;
- there are no grounds for a crime under Part 4 of Article 402 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as there is no direct intent.
The court emphasised that the failure to comply with the order was not due to unwillingness to defend the state, but to the soldier's poor health, which was confirmed by relevant evidence.
On this basis, the soldier was acquitted due to lack of evidence of a criminal offence.
