Voluntary return after unauthorized absence: the Ministry of Defense answered when servicemembers may be assigned combat missions
Kyiv • UNN
Servicemembers who have voluntarily returned after unauthorized absence or desertion may be assigned tasks only after being officially reinstated. The period of absence is not counted toward their length of service.
Servicemen who have voluntarily returned after an unauthorized absence from their unit (UAU) or desertion and expressed their willingness to continue serving may be assigned combat missions only after being added to the personnel roster of the military unit and placed on all types of support. This is stated in a clarification by the Ministry of Defence, reports UNN.
Details
According to the Ministry of Defence, after a serviceman returns to service, they must be added to the personnel roster of the military unit and provided with all types of support. Only after this may they be assigned combat, special, or reconnaissance missions. This is a clear requirement that must be followed in every military unit.
These changes are intended to finally eliminate the practice of prematurely assigning combat missions to military personnel who have not yet been officially added to the military unit.
When they may be assigned missions
For servicemen who, during martial law, left their unit without authorization or deserted, and then voluntarily returned and expressed their willingness to continue serving, the following conditions must be met:
- being added to the personnel roster of the respective military unit;
- being placed on all types of support.
Until both conditions have been met, such servicemen may not be assigned the missions specified above.
Which missions may be assigned only after enlistment
The rule covers combat and special missions in areas of military or combat operations, in temporarily occupied territories and on the territory of the aggressor state, as well as reconnaissance missions under conditions of military or combat operations.
In September, the Ministry of Defence, together with the General Staff, had already worked with military units and sent commanders clarifications on the procedure to follow after a serviceman voluntarily returns from UAU. We are now enshrining this procedure in the Instruction.
The period from the unauthorized abandonment of a military unit until the return to the performance of military duty will, as before, not be counted toward the contract term. This period will also not be counted toward the period of military service, service time in the military rank, or years of service for the allowance and pension entitlement.