Servicemen should not be punished for voluntarily returning to military service – Lubinets opposes tougher criminal liability for AWOL
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets has spoken out against draft laws No. 13260 and No. 13452, which increase criminal liability for unauthorized absence from a unit during martial law and for disobeying commanders’ orders.
Censor.NET reports that the ombudsman announced this on social media.
He stated that he had submitted his position on the draft laws to the Verkhovna Rada Committee.
Lubinets reminded that these are two high-profile draft laws registered in parliament:
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Dated May 5, 2025, No. 13260: On Amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on liability for criminal offenses related to unauthorized absence from a military unit or place of service during martial law;
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Dated July 4, 2025, No. 13452: On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine on liability for military administrative and military criminal offenses.
"I did not, overall, support draft law No. 13260. If it is adopted, servicemen during martial law (except for those who return to their units before the law takes effect) will be deprived of the opportunity to be released from criminal liability for voluntarily returning to service," Lubinets stressed.
He explained that in such a case, the only outcome for a person deciding to return would not be encouragement to correct their actions but mandatory criminal punishment under Articles 408 or 409 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
He also raised concerns about the legal provisions in draft law No. 13452, which establish:
- a longer statute of limitations for imposing fines for offenses under Chapter 13-B of the Code of Administrative Offenses committed during martial law;
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a ban on imposing a lighter sentence than prescribed by law, as well as on probation for military criminal offenses under Article 402 of the Criminal Code "Disobedience".
"I have submitted my position with comments and proposals on these draft laws to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement, which is responsible for further work on them.
Protecting the rights of servicemen will remain under my personal oversight. The state must support its Defenders!" the ombudsman added.
As a reminder, on September 4, the Verkhovna Rada passed in its first reading draft law No. 13260, which provides for tougher punishment for servicemen for unauthorized absence (AWOL) from their units during martial law.
Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement supported draft law No. 13452, which proposes prison terms of 5 to 10 years for servicemen disobeying a commander’s order.
