Two thousand servicemen of Mykolaiv region return to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after AWOL

About 2,000 soldiers in Mykolaiv region have returned to service after previously leaving their units without permission. This was done with the help of a law that allows for a simplified return with the resumption of all payments and avoidance of criminal liability.

Bohdan Schneider, a senior investigator at the SBI's territorial office in Mykolaiv, told Suspilne about reinstatement after the SGM.

This law, which was already in effect from November 29, 2024, to March 1, 2025, again allows soldiers to avoid criminal liability and return to the Armed Forces. According to Schneider, this opportunity is valid until August 30, 2025, and applies to those who committed the first offense.

To return to service, one must contact the police, military law enforcement service, or the State Bureau of Investigation. After that, the serviceman receives the status of a suspect in criminal proceedings, but can apply to the prosecutor for exemption from criminal liability.

Earlier, the dealers smuggled evaders and servicemen from the AFU abroad and put them in the Kherson pre-trial detention center. Operatives of the Internal Security Department of the Kherson Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine together with the National Police conducted a successful special operation. This time, they managed to expose a criminal group that organized a channel for illegal departure for persons temporarily deprived of the right to travel abroad, as well as for military personnel who had left their units without permission.

The cost of illegal border crossing was from 8 thousand US dollars per person. Although the scheme was very well organized, it was disrupted by Ukrainian law enforcement.

Катерина Глушко