Court Sentences Mykolaiv Man to 3 Years for Evading Mobilization

A Mykolaiv court sentenced a man to three years in prison for evading mobilization, despite his claims of health problems. He failed to appear when summoned, which was confirmed by witnesses and documents.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Domanivsky District Court of Mykolaiv region.

The incident occurred in March 2023. It was established that the man had been duly notified of the need to report for military service under a summons he received on March 17. However, he did not report on the specified date, nor did he inform the authorized bodies of the reasons for his absence.

The accused argued in court that he was unable to serve due to his health condition, as he had provided a number of medical certificates confirming his unfitness for military service. According to him, after undergoing a medical examination and receiving a military ID card in December 2022, he was sent to Lviv for training, where he was informed that the group had not been recruited, so he did not have to go to the unit. However, his failure to appear on March 18, 2023, was qualified as evasion of service.

Witnesses in court confirmed that the man had failed to fulfill his obligations to the mobilization authorities and did not report for assignment to the military unit. In particular, the witness, the deputy head of the military commissariat, explained that he had been duly informed.

The evidence provided by the prosecution included an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, copies of mobilization orders, summonses and medical records, which confirmed that the defendant had received summonses and failed to appear for calls.

In its turn, the defendant's defense presented medical certificates and doctors' reports confirming certain health problems, including ophthalmic and neurological diseases, which allegedly made it impossible to mobilize him. The court did not accept these arguments as sufficient to justify the defense, as the man was recognized as fit for military service at the time of the draft.

After a detailed examination of all the case materials, the court recognized the man's actions as intentional evasion of mobilization under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The court sentenced the defendant to three years in prison. However, this decision can be appealed to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal within 30 days of the verdict.

A junior sergeant from Mykolaiv region demanded $4,500 for assistance in influencing a medical commission to exempt a man from mobilization. He was detained while receiving the bribe, the court imposed a fine and released him from custody.

Meanwhile, a resident of Mykolaiv who forged a certificate of a person liable for military service and a certificate from a military medical commission was put in the dock. At the Mayaky-Udobne-Palanka checkpoint in Odesa region, he tried to present these fake documents to an SBU officer, hoping to avoid mobilization, but his plan was exposed.

Анна Бальчінос