A man was tried in Pervomaisk for forging documents to avoid conscription

In Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, a court acquitted a man who had been accused of forging a large-family certificate and using the forged document to obtain a deferment from mobilization. 

According to the court’s ruling, in February 2025, a resident of Pervomaisk personally pasted his own photograph and entered his personal information into a large family certificate that had been issued in his wife’s name.

 Later, in March, during a document check by TCC employees, he presented this certificate along with the birth certificates of three children and a marriage certificate.

The investigation concluded that the man had forged the document to avoid mobilization. However, during the court proceedings, it was established that he is the father of three minor children and is officially listed as the father on their birth certificates.

The court noted that a large family certificate does not in itself grant the right to defer mobilization. Other documents are required to obtain such a deferment, specifically the children’s birth certificates and marriage documents. It was precisely these documents that the man provided during the inspection.

The defendant also explained in court that he had pasted his photograph into the certificate after being advised to carry it with him instead of a large number of documents. Witnesses confirmed this account.

As a result, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove intent to forge a document to evade mobilization. The man was acquitted on both counts.

The verdict has not yet taken legal effect and may be appealed. 

Meanwhile, in Odesa, three participants in a draft evasion scheme were convicted; they had issued fake medical documents for money and influenced the decisions of the Medical Examination Commission. In addition, they sold forged draft notices that allowed conscripts to move freely throughout the country.

Андрій Колісніченко