The number of AWOL cases increased 4 times in a year

161,461 cases of unauthorized leaving of a military unit (Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) were recorded in the first 10 months of 2025. This is 4 times more than in the same period last year.

The number of cases that three years ago took 12 months to accumulate is now recorded in less than two weeks. Every month, law enforcement registers almost 16,000 new AWOL cases, while in 2024 there were about 5,000 per month, in 2023 — only 1,500, and in 2022 — just 6,000 for the entire year.

Despite the record number of proceedings, only 9.3 thousand soldiers have officially been notified of suspicion — this is about 6% of all registered cases. Only 5% of cases have reached the court. For comparison, in 2022 one out of five cases went to court.

Until 30 August 2025, there was a simplified way for soldiers who went AWOL to return to the army without criminal punishment. If a soldier wanted to keep serving, they could send a request and come back to a reserve unit within 72 hours.

But this option worked only for those who left before 10 May. Those who went AWOL after 10 May could return only to the same unit they left, and the process of reinstatement could take months.

It’s important to note that leaving your military unit without permission during martial law is punished by 5 to 10 years in prison.