Amnesty for SZH after the war: a lawyer’s view

Military lawyer Dmytro Prylypko shared his thoughts on the possibility of amnesty for service members who escaped from the place of service during an interview on the Kommersant Ukrainian YouTube channel. The lawyer expressed his belief that after the victory, amnesty can serve as an essential tool for restoring trust between the state and citizens who survived the horrors of war.

“I believe that after the Victory, the amnesty for those who left the service will become one of the mechanisms that will help the new government justify itself politically or create additional opportunities for political influence,” he said.

Prylypko also emphasized that many military personnel, who currently do not have the opportunity to move freely, had serious reasons for their actions – they could be psychological trauma or other problems related to the war.

“There is support for those who find themselves in difficult life circumstances, and if the state authorities show kindness to these people, it can positively affect the trust of the community,” the lawyer added.

It should be noted that, under Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, voluntary desertion from a military unit during martial law is a serious crime. At the same time, the State Bureau of Investigation calls on service members who left the service without permission to return voluntarily, guaranteeing that they will incur no criminal liability and retain all benefits.