The registration of military personnel in Ukraine will be conducted under new rules. The Ministry of Defense reported this on November 9, UNN writes.
The Ministry of Defense has updated the rules for personnel registration
The relevant Order No. 357 reportedly provides for four main changes:
- after returning from unauthorized absence (UA): the list of data in the order appointing a service member to a position has been shortened;
- after official confirmation of death: the date of exclusion from the unit’s rolls will be the date the death is registered;
- during transfer: registration in the new unit will begin on the day the act of acceptance of reinforcements is signed;
- for candidates for service: the procedure for registering mobilized citizens and foreigners undergoing selection for contract service has been clarified.
The changes took effect on October 30, 2026.
Date of exclusion from the unit’s personnel rolls
The change concerns service members who had previously been registered as missing under special circumstances or had been held captive or taken hostage, and whose deaths were subsequently officially confirmed.
They will still be excluded from the rolls on the basis of a death certificate, but the date of exclusion will now be the date on which the death was officially registered. In the certificate, this is the date the death record was drawn up.
Previously, service members were excluded from the rolls on the day following the date indicated in the medical certificate. However, official confirmation and registration of death could take place long after the actual death. This caused confusion in documents over which date should be used to calculate the preferential period, particularly when arranging pensions for the family. There will now be no such discrepancies, and exclusion will be dated as the day the death record was drawn up.
Thus, military registration will be aligned with the official date of death registration, which is important for families when arranging pensions, assistance, and benefits.
The changes took effect on October 30, 2026, and do not provide for an automatic review of previously issued orders excluding personnel from the rolls.
If a service member was excluded from the rolls before this date and the family wishes to challenge the specified date of exclusion, they must apply to a court.
Appointment to a position after returning from unauthorized absence (UA)
Order No. 357 reduced the amount of information specified in the personnel order appointing a service member who voluntarily returned after unauthorized absence (UA) to a position.
Previously, the order contained the full title of the position, along with information about the chain of command, military unit, and military administration body. Now the position title will not be specified in this part of the order—instead, the military unit’s code name will be indicated, for example: "Private Sydorenko I.I., service member of military unit A0000." The full name of the unit to which the service member is appointed will remain in the order.
The note will specify only the year of birth and the RNOKPP (tax identification number). Previously, it also indicated education, the grounds for appointment, and whether the position was lower, equivalent, or higher. These changes are intended to speed up preparation of the order appointing a service member to another military unit.
Registration during transfer to a new duty station
If a mobilized service member is sent to another unit as part of a reinforcement team, a representative of that unit comes to receive them. From the day the team leader signs the act of acceptance of reinforcements, the service member is entered on the personnel rolls of the unit to which they have been sent. Until their actual arrival, they will be registered there as temporarily absent.
Previously, during the transfer, the service member remained registered with the unit from which they had departed. Now, immediately after the act is signed, they will be registered by the unit to which they are proceeding.
This determines which unit will prepare the necessary documents and carry out the procedures if, during the transfer, the service member leaves their place of duty without authorization, is injured, or something else happens to them.
This change streamlines record-keeping and clearly defines which military unit is responsible for processing documents concerning a service member during their transfer to a new place of service.
Record-keeping for individuals undergoing processing and selection for service
A separate record-keeping procedure has been established for:
- citizens who have arrived at a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (TCC and SP) and are subject to conscription during mobilization;
- candidates for military service under contract from among foreigners and stateless persons undergoing selection. They may be processed at TCCs and SPs or recruitment centers and then sent to the Foreigners’ Recruitment Center.
Records of such individuals are kept in an electronic register, while the amendments define the specifics of completing it, the procedure for registering individuals, and placing them on food support. Enrollment will be formalized by an order for the line unit.
Previously, there was also a requirement that service members who voluntarily returned after unauthorized absence from a military unit (AWOL) be assigned to combat missions only after being added to the personnel rosters and placed on all types of support.