Nov. 25, 2025, 7:07 a.m.

Dismissal to the reserve during martial law: who is affected and under what conditions

(PHOTO: Bumble-Dee/Depositphotos)

During the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, some servicemen become unfit for military service with a review in 6-12 months.

Intent has been looking into which servicemen can be discharged during martial law.

According to Art. 26 of the Law "On Military Duty and Military Service", during martial law, servicemen are discharged from military service for health reasons to the reserve on the basis of a conclusion of the military qualification commission on their unfitness for military service with a review in 6-12 months.

In general, the ability to perform military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is determined by the state of health of a person liable for military service. It should be noted that the status of "limitedly fit for military service" is currently excluded from the legislation. According to the lawyers of ACTUM Attorneys at Law, instead of this resolution of the Military Qualification Commission, there is now a conclusion on fitness for service in military support units, TCC and JV, higher education institutions, training centers, institutions, medical units, logistics, communications, operational support, and security units.

Currently, the issue of undergoing a military medical examination is mentioned in many regulatory documents, but the mechanism of undergoing a military medical examination, the grounds for declaring a person unfit during the medical examination, and the list of diseases for obtaining a medical examination conclusion on unfitness are determined by the Order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine No. 402 of 14.08.2008 "On Approval of the Regulation on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine".

Those unfit for military service may be assigned one of the following statuses:

1. Unfit for military service.

After receiving such a decision, you must obtain a certificate of illness.

How to do it?

1) Submit your conclusion of the MEC, documents on medical examination, doctors' reports, Certificate of Injury, as well as your passport and military ID card to the regional MEC. Attach an application requesting approval of your MEC conclusion and issuance of a certificate of illness. You can do this through the medical institution where you underwent the VLC, or on your own (this is the best option).

2) In general, your command must implement the decision of the military medical commission on your unfitness immediately. That is, the commander of your military unit must issue an order dismissing you from service. This is also recorded in your military record. If such an order has not been issued, submit a report for discharge and attach the decision of the military enlistment commission to it.

3) After you receive the dismissal order, you must surrender your case and position. Then you will be removed from the military service lists.

4) Next, apply to the MCC and the JIC to be removed from the military register. If they do not do so, you remain in the status of a person liable for military service.

2. Unfit for military service with a review in six months or 6-12 months.

A military qualification commission may decide that a serviceman is unfit for military service with a review in 6-12 months in cases where a period of 6 to 12 calendar months is required to restore fitness for military service. For the period of unfitness indicated in the certificate of the MPC, a serviceman is discharged from military service to the reserve with the subsequent MPC (Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service"). If a serviceman wishes to do so, he can write a report for continuation of service in the positions provided for in the List (Order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine No. 410 of 14.08.2018 "On Approval of the List of Positions that Can Be Filled by Servicemen Recognized by Military Medical Commissions as Unfit for Military Service").

Servicemen and women who have been declared unfit for military service by the MEC with a re-examination in 6-12 months are sent from the health care institution to the MCC and JIC where the serviceman or woman will be registered after discharge (for example, at the place of residence). A serviceman discharged to the reserve does not need to return to the military unit to complete the documents for discharge. Documents can be obtained from the military unit at the MCC and JF at the place of residence, and the certificate of illness (certificate of the military medical examination) and other documents will be sent to the military unit and the MCC and JF by the medical institution where the serviceman was treated (Article 262 of the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of August 23, 2023 No. 901 "On Approval of the Procedure for the Exchange of Medical and Other Documents of Servicemen during a Special Period..."; Order of the Ministry of Defense of 15.09.2022 No. 280 "On Approval of the Instruction on the Organization of Personnel Records in the System of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine"), in electronic form.

If a serviceman is declared unfit for military service by the MEC with a re-examination in 6-12 months, his actions are as follows:

  1. Directly at the health care facility where the serviceman underwent the VLC, he should write a discharge report(Annex 12), indicating the name of the MCC and the JV, to which the military unit will send extracts from orders for exclusion from the personnel list, personal file and other documents returned to servicemen upon discharge from military service. Look for the exact name of the TCC and JV by the name of the settlement here
  2. The report should be handed over to a representative of the medical institution to be sent to the military unit and the CMC and JV. The medical institution will send the report together with the medical documents in electronic form to the military unit, after which it will return the original documents to the serviceman with notes on their sending.
  3. Arrive from the medical institution to the MCC and JIC with the original documents within 2 days. All documents from the medical institution and the military unit will be sent directly to your MCC and JFO. If the MCC and JV does not receive documents for discharge from the military unit at the time of the serviceman's arrival, the MCC and JV will register him/her as temporarily absent and temporarily arrived at the military unit.
  4. Then you should wait for the military unit to issue an order for the personnel and for the military unit. The handing over of files and positions takes place without the personal presence (by commission) of the serviceman (Clause 9.1.5 of Section 9 of the Order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine of 16.07.97 N 300 (as amended) "On Approval of the Regulation on Military (Ship) Economy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine"). Upon completion of this process, the commander issues an order to the military unit to remove the serviceman from the personnel lists, after which the military unit sends electronic copies and physical originals of the personal file and other documents to the CMC and JV specified in the serviceman's report.
  5. Control the receipt of monetary payments that the military unit is obliged to make upon discharge from military service (the list of such monetary payments can be found in the section"Payments").
  6. After the documents are received by the CCC and JV, which the serviceman indicated in the report, the original personal file and other documents provided by the serviceman upon discharge, come to the CCC and JV to complete the procedures for discharge from military service to the reserve.
  7. Upon the expiration of the period of unfitness specified in the certificate of illness, the serviceman must report to the CMC and JV and receive a referral for re-passing the OPC to determine his fitness for military service.

Володимир Шкаєв

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