© depositphotos/Aleksashka_ The adoption of the law could cause a social divide between civilians and the military.
The Verkhovna Rada plans to consider draft law No. 13452, which has drawn criticism for potentially restricting the rights of Ukrainian military personnel to a fair trial. The document prohibits courts from exercising discretionary powers in cases of “disobedience” – in particular, regarding the mitigation of punishment or conditional release.
The commander of the mortar battery of the “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion and lawyer Andriy Pysarenko stated about the danger of such a step. According to him, this actually nullifies the principle of individualization of punishment, which is a key element of fair justice in accordance with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court must take into account both objective circumstances (battle conditions, unit resources, nature of the order) and subjective factors (motives, psychological or physical state of the serviceman). Depriving the courts of this opportunity, according to the lawyer, will turn justice into a formal imposition of sanctions.
Similar changes were already adopted in 2022 by Law No. 8271. At that time, it was prohibited to mitigate punishment for desertion, unauthorized leaving of a unit, or failure to comply with an order. However, the strengthening of punitive norms did not improve discipline, but on the contrary, caused an increase in the number of offenses. If in 2022 6,988 such cases were recorded, then in 2023 – already 17,658, and in 2024 – more than 67 thousand. In 2025, in the first seven months alone, more than 110 thousand of them were recorded.
Experts warn that the adoption of Bill No. 13452 will lead to discrimination against military personnel, who are deprived of the right to individualized punishment, and may also cause a social divide between civilians and military personnel. This will demotivate both recruits and active military personnel, and ultimately only weaken discipline and fighting spirit.
Andriy Pisarenko called on the parliament not to repeat the mistakes of past years and to review the current norms that increase the repressive nature of the legislation. In his opinion, the military should have no less legal guarantees than civilians, because it is they who ensure the defense of the state.
The bill has currently been removed from the agenda, but it may be returned for consideration at any time.
Previously, lawyer Liliya Mamedova explained what responsibility a soldier may bear if he fails to carry out the commander's order.
