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Absence without leave in Ukraine: which article applies, the penalties, and how to return
Unauthorised absence from a unit is often written about as if returning to service automatically closes the case. It does not. Returning and the criminal proceedings are two separate roads running in parallel. Confusing them costs people years.
From 21 September, return takes place on general terms: through the Military Law Enforcement Service and a reserve battalion, without the right to choose your unit. Release from criminal liability under Article 401(5) of the Criminal Code does not depend on that date and still applies.
What counts as absence, and from which day
Unauthorised absence means leaving a military unit or place of service without permission, or failing to report for duty on time without good reason. What matters legally is not the moment the person left, but the moment they had to be there and were not.
The threshold is three days. Absence of up to three days leads to disciplinary liability. Beyond three days it is a criminal offence, and the commander is obliged to file a report.
Good reasons do exist: illness, detention by law enforcement, force majeure. But they do not work by themselves — they have to be confirmed by a document. A discharge summary, a certificate, an arrest record gathered in time decide the case better than any explanation after the fact.
Absence or desertion — the distinction that decides everything
This is the first thing to establish in any case. The two articles look similar and differ in a single feature — the purpose.
Intention cannot be seen directly, so the investigation reads it from the circumstances. Forged documents, leaving the country, moving house, a destroyed SIM card, a complete loss of contact with the unit all work against the person. In their favour: maintained contact, attempts to resolve things through a report, seeing a doctor, any trace that the person did not disappear.
Which article applies to absence without leave, and the penalties
Unauthorised absence falls under Article 407 of the Criminal Code. The penalty does not depend on whether the person serves under contract or was mobilised, but on two things: how long the absence lasted, and when — peacetime, a special period, martial law or a combat situation. While martial law is in force, almost all cases are classified under part 5.
- Part 1 — a conscript serviceman, absent from three days to a month: up to two years in a disciplinary battalion or up to three years' imprisonment.
- Part 2 — other servicemen (under contract, called up in mobilisation), absent for more than ten days up to a month, or for three to ten days repeatedly within a year: a fine of 1,000 to 4,000 tax-free minimum incomes (UAH 17,000–68,000), service restriction for up to two years, or up to three years' imprisonment.
- Part 3 — more than a month: two to five years' imprisonment.
- Part 4 — a special period other than martial law, more than three days: three to seven years.
- Part 5 — martial law and absence of more than three days, or a combat situation regardless of duration: five to ten years' imprisonment.
Leaving a position without permission during combat is an offence under Article 407(5) from the first hour. The three days often described as "safe" apply only to absence outside a combat situation.
Contract or mobilised: is the article different?
No. Parts 2 and 3 apply to all servicemen other than conscripts — contract servicemen and mobilised ones alike. And under martial law part 5 applies to everyone. A motivation contract does not change anything either: absence during a contract is the same offence under Article 407.
Absence with a weapon
Article 407 itself does not mention weapons. But if a person left with a weapon, the investigation will look at two questions. First, the purpose: the weapon becomes an argument for desertion, and desertion with a weapon is Article 408(2), or under martial law Article 408(4), five to twelve years. Second, the weapon itself: its theft or misappropriation by a serviceman may be a separate offence under Article 410, under martial law ten to fifteen years.
Most importantly: release from liability under Article 401(5), described below, covers only Articles 407 and 408. It does not extend to Article 410. If the weapon is still with you, how to hand it in should be decided together with a lawyer, and as early as possible.
Returning to service does not close the criminal case
This is the main mistake people come to us with. A person returns, carries on serving, and a few months later receives a summons from the investigator and genuinely does not understand where it came from.
The explanation is simple: as soon as the commander files a report, the information is entered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. It is not taken back out. The proceedings live their own life and end either in closure or in court.
Returning affects the case, and strongly — but as a circumstance, not as an automatic ground for closure. It speaks to the person's character, affects the preventive measure and makes a plea agreement or release from serving a sentence on probation realistic. That is a lot. But it is not the same as "there will be no case".
What actually closes the case
If returning does not close the proceedings, a different, separate procedure does, and it is worth knowing about in advance. A person who committed an offence under Article 407 or 408 for the first time while martial law is in force may be released from criminal liability.
The word "may" is no accident. This is the court's power, not an automatic consequence of returning. The law requires three conditions together, and none of them is met by itself:
- A voluntary application to the investigator, prosecutor or court stating the intention to return to the same or another unit to continue serving. Being detained and brought in is not voluntary — so the order of steps matters.
- The commander's written consent to this particular person continuing to serve. It is a document that has to be obtained separately; a verbal "come back, there won't be any problems" is not evidence.
- The offence was committed for the first time while martial law was in force.
The Supreme Court has confirmed these same three conditions as mandatory for the court to establish.
The return Procedure says so directly: release from liability under Articles 407 and 408 for those who returned under it "is carried out in the manner established by law". In other words, a report on return and an application for release from liability are two different documents, and filing the first does not replace the second.
What will change if draft law No. 13260 is adopted
In May 2025 a draft law was registered in Parliament that removes exactly the three-condition rule above — Article 401(5). On 4 September 2025 it was adopted at first reading. It has been waiting for the second reading ever since — and as of now it remains a draft, not a law.
There has been no second reading and no presidential signature. The rule described below is not in force. We are following its progress and will update this article when something changes.
Instead of the current three conditions, the draft proposes two separate categories — depending on whether the person has already returned or is only planning to.
- Those still planning to return — who committed the offence before the law takes effect: the prosecutor or court obtains the commander's written consent to continued service, and after the ruling the person must arrive at the unit no later than 72 hours after the ruling takes effect. The commander reinstates them on the day of arrival.
- Those who have already returned and are serving — release is granted only on proven service of at least three months after the return, with no time limit if by then martial law has ended or the person has been discharged on health grounds. Instead of a statement of intent, a commander's certificate with the date of return and the confirmed length of service will be required.
The procedure for applying to the investigator or prosecutor also changes: the commander's written consent is to be replaced by the person's own written consent.
Returning from absence after 20 September: how it works now
The simplified procedure under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 767 of 12 June 2026 — with your own choice of unit and no reserve battalion — accepted applications until 20 September 2026 inclusive. Applications filed in time continue to be handled under it: the time limits for checks and arrival run from approval, not from the day of filing.
For everyone else, the general procedure applies from 21 September. Its main difference lies not in the penalty — that is the same — but in the fact that the person no longer chooses where to serve: allocation is made by the reserve battalion according to the needs of combat brigades.
Returning step by step: what to do this week
The official explanation describes the procedure in the ministry's language. Below is what people ask about at consultations.
Where to go
After 20 September there is one channel — the Military Law Enforcement Service. A report to a unit of your choice, through Army+ or a recruiting centre with your own choice of unit, is no longer accepted: the list of brigades on szch.army.gov.ua related to the simplified procedure.
The reserve battalion and the Service are now a mandatory step: the person goes not to a new unit but first to the reserve battalion under an order. If an application through Army+ was filed by 20 September inclusive and approved — follow it: the "On the way" status remains valid.
What to take
Your military ID or passport, all documents on good reasons for the absence, medical documents if any. And — separately — the Service's order (or, for applications before 20 September, the "On the way" status in Army+). On the way to the reserve battalion it is the only document that explains to police at a checkpoint why a person listed as wanted is travelling on their own.
Pay and registration
Pay resumes from the day of enlistment by order — not from the day you applied to the Service and not from the day you received the order. The time before the order is not paid, and under the general procedure the wait is longer than it was under the simplified one.
What to do about the proceedings in those same days
The investigator does not see the application to the Service or the report in the battalion: they are not addressed to the investigating body. So at the same time as the application we send the investigator or prosecutor a written notice of voluntary return and an application for release from liability under Article 401(5), and after arrival we obtain the commander's written consent. If this is done a month later, the three conditions will not go anywhere, but the "voluntariness" of the application will be harder to prove: by then the proceedings may already contain a ruling on compulsory appearance or a preventive measure. After 20 September this matters even more: under the general procedure the investigator learns about the return from the reserve battalion, not from you, and it is your written notice that records voluntariness.
Special situations
The explanation does not cover them separately, and each needs an individual assessment before applying:
- The person is abroad. Returning means crossing the border, and applying to the Service does not resolve that by itself.
- A preventive measure has already been chosen, or a search has been announced with a ruling on compulsory appearance. Applying to the Service does not cancel the ruling — separate work in the proceedings is needed.
- Repeated absence. You can return in the same way, but release from liability under Article 401(5) — no: it is only for those who committed the offence for the first time.
- Illness or injury. This must be stated when applying to the Service, with documents: with them the person goes to a medical board, not straight to a post.
What has not changed after 20 September
Only the right to choose your own unit and to bypass the reserve battalion has lapsed. What has not changed:
- the duty to return — the status of a serviceman remains;
- the possibility of returning — the general procedure through the Service and the reserve battalion is described above;
- release from criminal liability under Article 401(5) — it is a rule of law, not of a resolution, and the 20 September date does not affect it. The three conditions continue to apply until Parliament changes the rule: as of 23 September 2026, draft law No. 13260 had not had its second reading.
But with every week the argument "intended to return" grows weaker, and it is exactly what separates Articles 407 and 408.
Frequently asked questions
Which article applies to absence without leave in wartime?
Article 407(5) of the Criminal Code: absence of more than three days under martial law carries five to ten years' imprisonment. In a combat situation — regardless of duration. The article is the same for contract and mobilised servicemen.
Absence with a weapon — which article?
If the investigation proves the purpose of evading service — desertion with a weapon, Article 408(2) and (4), under martial law five to twelve years. The weapon itself may be classified separately under Article 410. Release from liability under Article 401(5) does not extend to Article 410.
How do I return from absence after 20 September 2026?
Apply to the Military Law Enforcement Service — it issues an order to a reserve battalion. There an enlistment order is issued within three days, followed by allocation to a unit according to the army's needs. There is no longer a choice of unit. The Ministry of Defence hotline is 1519.
Will the criminal case be closed if I return after 20 September?
No, not automatically — neither before nor after that date. Returning is a circumstance that affects the case. What closes it is a separate court decision on release from liability under Article 401(5), on three conditions: a voluntary application, the commander's written consent, and a first offence.
What changed after 20 September 2026?
The choice of unit disappeared and a mandatory step appeared — the Military Law Enforcement Service and a reserve battalion. The penalties under Articles 407 and 408 and the ground for release from liability under Article 401(5) have not changed.
Can I return from absence if I am on the wanted list?
Yes, being wanted does not prevent you from applying to the Military Law Enforcement Service. But if the proceedings already contain a ruling on compulsory appearance or a preventive measure, the application does not cancel it — separate work by a lawyer in the proceedings is needed.
Can I still apply through Army+ and choose my unit?
No, not from 21 September 2026. Applications filed through Army+ by 20 September inclusive are handled under the simplified procedure; for everyone else the general procedure through the Military Law Enforcement Service applies.
What happens while the absence continues
- A search. The person is put on the wanted list, and the data goes into alerts and databases. A check at a checkpoint, a visit to a hospital or any contact with the police produces a match.
- A preventive measure can be chosen without you. The investigating judge considers the application even in the person's absence if they could not be notified.
- Pay stops from the day the absence is recorded.
- The person remains a serviceman. They are not removed from the register, and service does not end by itself. So "just getting a job and getting on with life" does not work: the status has not gone anywhere, and time works against you.
- Every month in hiding makes the classification worse. The longer the absence and the more effort made not to be found, the easier it is for the investigation to prove the purpose of evading service for good — that is, desertion.
On the word "amnesty"
People search for this word next to unauthorised absence more than any other, and it is misleading. There is no amnesty for unauthorised absence. An amnesty is a separate law passed by Parliament that releases defined categories of convicted persons. No such law has been adopted for unauthorised absence.
What people call an amnesty is either a procedure for returning to service or a possibility of leniency in a specific case. Confusing them is dangerous: a person returns "under the amnesty", receives an indictment six months later and genuinely believes they were deceived.
What to do
In short
Unauthorised absence begins on the fourth day of absence — and in a combat situation from the first hour. It falls under Article 407, and under martial law under part 5: five to ten years, the same for contract and mobilised servicemen. It differs from desertion in one feature — the purpose — and that is what the case is fought over. Returning to service does not close the proceedings, but substantially affects their outcome. What closes the case is a separate procedure — release from liability on three conditions that have to be met deliberately; it does not cover a weapon taken under Article 410. The simplified procedure with your own choice of unit ended on 20 September 2026; return now goes through the Military Law Enforcement Service and a reserve battalion, and that has not cancelled release from liability. And the earlier a lawyer joins the case, the more options remain in it.
Are you or someone close to you absent from a unit?
Tell us from which day the absence has lasted and what is already known about the case — we will look at which options are still open.