The Verkhovna Rada extended the opportunity to voluntarily return from unauthorized leave until the end of summer

At today’s session, the Verkhovna Rada passed in second reading Bill No. 13177, which extends the deadline for military personnel who have gone AWOL (absent without leave) to voluntarily return to service. The deadline has been extended to August 30 of this year.

A total of 282 deputies voted in favor of the bill.

According to the document, once a service member voluntarily returns after being AWOL, all legal benefits and social guarantees will be reinstated. The bill also allows returning soldiers to continue serving by decision of their commander, even if criminal proceedings against them have not yet been closed.

Time spent absent from duty will not count toward length of service, and during the AWOL period, soldiers will not receive pay, support, or benefits.

Additionally, the bill proposes an update to the “Army+” application to allow soldiers to submit a report requesting to return to their unit.

The previous law’s deadline for voluntary return expired on March 1.

Recently, MP Anna Skorokhod claimed that returning from AWOL only results in assignment to “meat grinder” assault brigades. However, the law does not contain such a provision.