Draft Law No. 15530 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. It could simplify obtaining a deferment from mobilization for some conscript-eligible parents. It concerns cases in which a court has already determined that a minor child must live with the conscript-eligible parent.
At present, such a decision alone is not sufficient to obtain a deferment: current legislation requires confirmation of other circumstances, including the fact that the parent is raising and supporting the child independently, UNN reports, citing data from the Verkhovna Rada.
Draft Law No. 15530 was registered in parliament on August 20, 2026. Its author is Member of Parliament Oleksii Honcharenko. As of August 26, the document is being reviewed by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
What Oleksii Honcharenko proposes to change in the current legislation
The author of the document proposes amending Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Training and Mobilization". It defines the categories of conscript-eligible persons who are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization.
Currently, the right to a deferment is granted, in particular, to women and men who have a child under the age of 18 and, under certain circumstances, have effectively become the only parent raising the child. This applies in cases where the other parent has died, has been deprived of parental rights, has been declared missing, has been declared dead, or is serving a sentence in a place of imprisonment.
The law separately provides for the right to a deferment for a person who independently raises and supports a child pursuant to a court decision. It is precisely this provision that Honcharenko proposes to expand.
He proposes making the existence of a court decision determining the place of residence of a minor child with a conscript-eligible parent an additional ground for a deferment. In such a case, if a court has previously established that the child must live with the father or mother who is subject to conscription, the man will be able to rely on this decision as an independent ground for obtaining a deferment. The current legislative system does not provide for this possibility.
Why a decision on the child’s residence alone is currently insufficient for a deferment
The main problem is that, from a legal standpoint, "determining a child’s place of residence" and "independently raising and supporting a child" are different matters. For example, after a divorce, a court may determine that a child will permanently live with the father. However, the mother does not necessarily lose her parental rights or stop participating in the child’s life. She may pay child support, regularly see the child, and participate in the child’s upbringing, medical treatment, or education.
In other words, the mere fact that a child lives with one parent does not mean that the other parent has legally ceased fulfilling their duties. Therefore, a court decision on the child’s place of residence is not automatically equated with a decision on independently raising and supporting the child.
In practice, this creates situations in which a child actually lives with one parent for years, that parent handles most day-to-day matters, yet this is insufficient to obtain a deferment.
What the Supreme Court says in such situations
The issue of distinguishing the concepts mentioned above has already been considered by the courts.
In its ruling of August 4, 2026, in case No. 725/9343/25, the Supreme Court considered a situation in which a man sought to establish the fact that he independently raised and supported his child. The court noted that a child’s residence with one parent and the separate residence of the mother and father, in themselves, do not yet prove that the other parent has completely ceased participating in the child’s upbringing.
That is, establishing the fact of independent upbringing requires assessing the other parent’s actual participation in the child’s life, rather than merely the child’s residential address. This legal distinction is currently of fundamental importance for obtaining a deferment.
Draft Law No. 15530 proposes changing the approach: a court decision establishing that a minor child lives with a person liable for military service should become a separate and sufficient ground for a deferment, even without an additional court determination of the fact that the child is being raised independently.
Who will be covered by the new provision
In the text of the draft law, Oleksii Honcharenko uses the term "minor child." Under Ukrainian law, a minor child is one who has not reached the age of 14. Children aged 14 to 18 have the status of minors. Therefore, in the current wording of the draft law, the new ground will apply specifically to persons liable for military service with whom, pursuant to a court decision, children under the age of 14 live.
This is an important clarification, since the current Article 23 uses a broader age limit for a number of family-related grounds — a child under the age of 18. If the draft law proceeds to preparation for consideration by Parliament, this difference may also become a subject of discussion and amendments.
Must the other parent be deprived of parental rights for a man to receive a deferment?
At present, the text of the draft law posted on the official Verkhovna Rada portal contains no such condition. The document does not require the other parent to have been deprived of parental rights, declared missing, or not to have participated in raising the child at all. Nor does the draft law expressly require the parents to be divorced.
The key condition is specifically the existence of a court decision determining that a minor child’s place of residence is with the person liable for military service. As a result, the right to a deferment could potentially arise even when the other parent continues to support the child, pays alimony, and participates in raising the child, but the court has determined that the child’s permanent place of residence is with the person liable for military service. This is one of the fundamental differences between the draft law and the current model.
Why this initiative emerged
One of the reasons for the public discussion about the current rules was a high-profile case in Kryvyi Rih, where in the summer of 2026 the father of a five-year-old child was mobilized. The man said that he was raising his daughter alone and had a court decision stipulating that the child lived with him.
At the same time, the territorial recruitment and social support center explained that the documents submitted did not confirm specifically the fact that he was independently raising and supporting the child within the meaning provided by legislation for granting a deferment. In other words, the existence of a court decision on the child’s place of residence was not recognized as sufficient grounds.
Following the intervention of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the man was released to complete the necessary paperwork.
What will change for men if the draft law is adopted
If the Verkhovna Rada supports the draft law in its proposed wording, the procedure for confirming the right to a deferment could be significantly simplified for some persons liable for military service.
In particular, a person who already has a court decision determining that a minor child’s place of residence is with them will not have to initiate separate court proceedings to establish the fact that they independently raise and support the child solely for the purpose of obtaining a deferment.
At the same time, after amendments to the law are introduced, it may become necessary to adjust the bylaws governing the procedure for processing deferments and the list of supporting documents. In particular, this concerns Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 560, which regulates the procedure for conscription during mobilization and the procedure for confirming the right to a deferment.
Thus, even after the potential adoption of the draft law, the practical mechanism for applying the new provision may require additional regulation by the government.
What stage is the draft law at now?
As of August 26, 2026, Draft Law No. 15530 is only at the initial stage of consideration in the Verkhovna Rada. The document was registered on August 20 and referred for consideration to the relevant Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Before coming into force, the bill must be considered by Parliament and receive the required number of votes from members of parliament. Its text may also be amended during consideration.
To recap
Earlier, we reported that a bill had been registered in the Verkhovna Rada aimed at resolving one of the problems concerning student deferments from mobilization. It concerns cases in which a person was expelled from a university before completing their studies, did not receive a diploma, and later decided to continue pursuing the same level of education.