Court to try servicemen who discharged themselves using forged certificates in Donetsk region - SBI
Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) have sent indictments to court against three servicemen who used an illegal paid discharge scheme.
SBI said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that all three individuals served in one of the military units stationed in Donetsk region.
"According to the investigation, the servicemen purchased forged disease certificates that provided grounds for discharge from service. The cost of such ‘documents’ ranged from $3,000 to $5,000," the statement reads.
According to the SBI, two of them used the forged documents, were discharged "on health grounds" and received payments of over UAH 20,000 each. "Another serviceman did not manage to carry out the plan - the command detected signs of forgery," the bureau said.
The three servicemen are charged with knowingly using a forged document (part 4 of article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Two of them are also charged with evading military service duties through document forgery under martial law and fraud (part 4 of article 409, part 1 of article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The third is charged with attempted evasion of military service through document forgery (part 2 of article 15, part 4 of article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Damages caused to the state from the received payments have already been reimbursed.
Procedural guidance is provided by the Specialized Prosecution Office for Defense of the Eastern Region.
The SBI reports that since the beginning of 2026, investigators of the SBI territorial office in Kramatorsk have sent 15 indictments to court against servicemen under part 4 of article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"In the majority of cases, the individuals used forged medical documents to be discharged ‘on health grounds’ or to obtain the status of sole caregiver," the bureau said.
Some of them also received payments, causing damages to the state of over UAH 740,000, which have since been reimbursed.