08 August 2026
(PHOTO: Collage by Intent/AI)
In the Odesa region, two soldiers were sentenced to prison terms for deserting their posts. Both left their units without permission during martial law and were each sentenced to five years in prison.
Intent learned this from the court rulings.
Odessa Commander Went Into Hiding for Five Months
The Primorsky District Court of Odesa found 25-year-old National Guard squad commander Ivan Protasov guilty. The man left his post in Odesa and went into hiding for nearly five months until he was apprehended in Mykolaiv.
According to court records, Protasov served in a National Guard unit responsible for guarding critical state facilities. He held the position of rifle squad commander.
On November 26, 2025, the soldier deserted his post in the Primorsky District of Odesa. He remained in hiding until April 16, 2026, when he was detained by officers of the Mykolaiv Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigations.
In court, Protasov fully admitted his guilt. This was considered a mitigating factor.
It also emerged that the man had previously been exempted from liability for a similar offense. This occurred pursuant to a ruling by the Voznesensk District Court of Mykolaiv Oblast dated October 30, 2025.
The court sentenced Protasov to 5 years in prison. Under this section of the law, probation is not permitted under martial law.
A gun repairman “lost his temper” and fled to a friend’s house
The second verdict was handed down by the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City and District Court in Odesa Oblast. The defendant in the case was Senior Private Yevhen Tkachenko.
The man served under mobilization as a repair technician in a workshop for radiation, chemical, and biological protection equipment. On December 25, 2023, he failed to report for duty and remained in hiding until May 14, 2024.
During this entire time, Tkachenko lived in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and worked in construction.
In court, the man stated that he had voluntarily enlisted in the military back in April 2022 and served for about a year and a half.
“I lost it, got fed up with everything, and went AWOL that night,” the soldier explained in court.
According to him, after deserting, he stayed at the home of an acquaintance who had moved abroad. He sold his car for $1,500. Later, tired of hiding, he voluntarily returned to his unit.
The court took into account that Tkachenko had already been convicted of a similar crime by the Saratsky District Court of Odesa Oblast on June 18, 2026. Considering the totality of his offenses, the final sentence was set at 5 years and 2 months of imprisonment.
Ірина Глухова