The number of cases about single parents has increased 67 times since the start of the full-scale war

The number of court cases where fathers ask to officially confirm they are raising a child alone has grown 67 times since the start of the full-scale war, according to the Babusya court register search system.

To compare: only 6 such cases were recorded between January and May 2022, while in the same period of 2025, the number increased to 400.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, at least 1,255 court cases involving men who want to prove they are raising a minor child alone have been found in the court register.

The number of such cases grows every year. In 2022, there were only 37 cases. In 2023, this number grew 5 times — up to 180. In 2024, the number reached 625 cases.

This year, Ukrainian courts have already reviewed at least 400 similar cases — that’s 3.1 times more than in the same period of 2024.

It’s important to note that the official status of a single father allows men to travel abroad, which is currently restricted for most men aged 18 to 60.

Talina Kravtsova, a partner at Asters, notes that in recent years the number of requests to officially recognize men as single fathers has increased. This can be explained by many mothers going abroad, as well as martial law and military mobilization in Ukraine.

However, Ukrainian law does not clearly define the term “single father.” In court practice, it is often treated the same as the status of a “single mother.”

Based on this analogy (from a 1992 decision by the Supreme Court of Ukraine), a man can be recognized as a “single father” if:

• he is not married, and
• he is raising and supporting the child alone, without the mother’s help.

For example, if the mother has died, disappeared, or refused to take the child from the hospital, the father must take responsibility and is given the status of a single father. Even if the mother is alive but does not take part in the child’s life, the father may still be recognized as a single father — but proving this in court is more difficult.

«There’s a myth that it’s enough to have a court decision about divorce or that the child lives with the father. But that’s not true. In such cases, the father must officially prove in court that he is the one raising and supporting the child on his own. At the same time, the status of a single father in Ukraine provides important social benefits and legal protections. These include: extra paid leave, monthly government financial support, a higher tax benefit, exemption from mobilization, priority for housing and spots in kindergartens, and more»,

— explains Talina Kravtsova.

The lawyer notes that because some people try to abuse this mechanism to avoid mobilization, courts and other government bodies have become more strict with these types of cases during martial law. This may make it harder for those who truly qualify to get official single father status.