In 2026, thanks to the S34 system regarding servicemen who committed AWOL (unauthorized leave of the unit), some 7,500 servicemen have already approached the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) wishing to return to duty, SBI Director Oleksiy Sukhachov has said.
In an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, he said that during the investigation of such crimes as AWOL, the Bureau faced the problem of a large volume of information that was not properly systematized, so the S34 database was created.
"Currently, it contains practically all information from all law enforcement agencies on most of the servicemen who went AWOL… the database is used by the Military Law Enforcement Service, the SBI, and the National Police, which is involved in organizing the search for servicemen," Sukhachov said.
According to him, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (HUR) also has access to this database for verification purposes regarding prisoners of war, "as a person may be in captivity, but still listed as AWOL in the military unit records."
"As of today, we have maximum awareness regarding those who went AWOL from their military units. This is a very high-quality, hard-won state tool for us," he concluded.
Sukhachov reported that since May this year, S34 has been modernized and now any serviceman who decides to return to service from AWOL can apply to any territorial administration of the SBI and promptly receive legal support and assistance.
According to Sukhachov, in 2025 as a whole, almost 10,000 servicemen approached the SBI in order to return to military units through exemption from criminal liability (under Article 401 of the Criminal Code).
"In 2026, thanks to our S34 system, some 7,500 servicemen have already applied, wishing to return to duty," he said.
