Ukraine: Conscientious Objectors to Military Service
Христиане против войны
Международное экуменическое миротворческое движение
In Ukraine, protecting the rights of individuals who refuse military service on religious grounds of conscience represents a serious problem. This list contains stories of Ukrainian Christians who were subjected to mobilization despite their beliefs, as well as Christians persecuted for refusing mobilization. As of 4 November 2026, the list includes 209 people (see below). This is far from a complete list of those facing persecution. Many of those affected prefer not to make their names public.
As established by the Norwegian human rights organization «Forum 18,» as of March 10, 2025, most conscientious objectors to mobilization face criminal prosecution under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, or for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period»). The punishment is imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
Approximately 200 cases against conscientious objectors under Article 336 of the Criminal Code are likely already in court. Of these, 171 cases are against Jehovah’s Witnesses – as reported to «Forum 18» by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Baptists (including Baptists of the Council of Churches), Pentecostals, and Seventh-day Adventists also face such persecution.
Additionally, clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are increasingly facing forced mobilization.
According to «Forum 18» calculations, about 600 criminal cases have been initiated against conscientious objectors who requested alternative civilian service under Article 336 of the Criminal Code that have not yet reached court. Of these, 582 cases are against Jehovah’s Witnesses – as reported to «Forum 18» by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
On the morning of March 10, 2025, «Forum 18» contacted the General Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv asking why so many conscientious objectors are being prosecuted under Article 336 of the Criminal Code. «Forum 18» asked why they cannot be provided with alternative civilian service, such as work in hospitals. The same questions were posed to Stanislav Kulich, head of the Security and Defense Department of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Dmytro Lubinets. Neither the General Prosecutor’s Office nor the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights had responded by the end of the working day in Kyiv on March 10.
Furthermore, persecution of conscientious objectors occurs under Article 407 of the Criminal Code («Unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service»). This charge can be used against those who are considered to already be in military service. The punishment for crimes committed under martial law under Part 5 is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years. As of March 6, 2025, at least 18 cases under this article are being prepared against Jehovah’s Witnesses who are conscientious objectors – as reported to «Forum 18» by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, as of 7 October 2026, 33 members of their religious community remained in detention in Ukraine for maintaining their position of neutrality.
On 6 October 2026, the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses presented report on conscientious objectors in Ukraine during a discussion on freedom of religion or belief at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference. According to the report, since the start of the full-scale war, 3,594 Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused military service on grounds of conscience had been detained, and 2,690 of them had been forcibly sent to military units. The report recorded 470 accounts of physical violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses, including 72 cases that its authors described as particularly severe.
A subsequent special report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors (October 2026), provided updated figures. Since February 2022, 3,640 Jehovah’s Witnesses had been arbitrarily detained, and 2,724 of them had been forcibly sent to military units. Compared with the figures presented in Warsaw on 6 October, these totals increased by 46 and 34, respectively. The number of reported cases of physical violence remained at 470, including 72 particularly severe cases.
According to the updated report, 998 criminal investigations involving Jehovah’s Witnesses had been opened under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which concerns evasion of conscription during mobilization. Of these, 384 cases had been referred to the courts, and 110 convictions had been handed down. Courts of appeal had upheld 41 convictions, and the Supreme Court had upheld 16. Seventeen Jehovah’s Witnesses were imprisoned under this article.
A further 141 criminal investigations had been opened under Articles 402 (disobedience) and 407 (unauthorized abandonment of a military unit) of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. Of these, 74 cases had been referred to the courts, and 10 convictions had been handed down. Four Jehovah’s Witnesses were serving prison sentences, and another 15 were being held in pretrial detention. A further 58 had been released on bail pending completion of the pretrial investigation.
In total, the report recorded 36 Jehovah’s Witnesses in custody in connection with proceedings arising from their refusal to perform military service on grounds of religious conscience.
The list of those who have faced persecution, whose names are known, is below.
Valentyn Oleksandrovych Adamchuk, born in 1986, a Pentecostal and conscientious objector to military service.
On May 17, 2024, he was summoned to the military recruitment office for mobilization. Three days later, he submitted an application for alternative civilian service based on his religious beliefs. The military recruitment office rejected his application.
«Guided by this, he sent a request to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights,» notes the subsequent court verdict. Stanislav Kulish from the Human Rights Commissioner’s office responded on December 12, 2024, in a letter reviewed by Forum 18, «that the Constitution of Ukraine and international treaties have higher legal force and priority over domestic legislative acts, and therefore a person’s right to alternative service and exemption from military service is absolute and cannot be restricted due to the lack of regulation of this issue in Ukrainian legislation during martial law.»
On January 29, 2025, the Darnytskyi District Court of Kyiv (Judge Andrii Skuba) found Adamchuk guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, or for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») and sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. He was also placed under a night curfew from 23:00 to 5:00 until the verdict came into legal force (although all residents of Ukraine are already under a night curfew).
On February 7, 2025, in an interview with Forum 18, Adamchuk noted: «The Gospel tells us: ‘Thou shalt not kill’ and to care for others. Military service does not conform to the Gospel or the sayings of Christ.» He insisted that he is willing to perform alternative civilian service, for example, in a hospital or cleaning streets: «I am not refusing my duties. Our Constitution provides for alternative service. I am ready to go to prison for my beliefs.»
«In his final statement to the court in 2025,» noted Yurii Sheliazhenko of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, «Adamchuk read the poem ‘Not for Robbery,’ written by Kyiv pastor Georgiy Vins and first read in 1966 in his final statement at the trial of Christians persecuted by the totalitarian regime.» (Early in the morning of December 1, 1966, a Moscow court sentenced Council of Churches Baptist pastor Vins and his colleague to 3 years of imprisonment each.)
Adamchuk noted that he represented himself at the trial as he did not have a lawyer. He is seeking a lawyer for his appeal.
Adamchuk has filed an appeal with the Kyiv City Court of Appeal. The hearing date has not yet been set. The verdict will only come into legal force after the appeal is considered.
Mykhaylo Adamovych, 40 years old, is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and a conscientious objector to military service.
Between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2025, he was forcibly taken by the military to a military unit. Based on his religious beliefs, he refused to wear a uniform or take up arms. He was charged with disobeying a military order and placed under arrest.
He was held at the disciplinary detention facility of the Military Law Enforcement Service in Chernihiv Region and is awaiting trial.
Believer ALEKSEIENKO VITALII, Evangelical Christian (Kolomyya, Ivano-Frankivsk region)
Vitaliy Alekseyenko
Vitaliy Alekseyenko, born in 1976, is an Evangelical believer. A displaced person from the city of Sloviansk in Donbas, he had been living in Ivano-Frankivsk since May 2022. For religious reasons, he refused to take up arms.
He was drafted for military service in June 2022. Alekseyenko informed the draft board officials that he could not take up arms due to conscientious reasons, as he is a Christian. He was denied alternative civilian service, and his case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.
«They told me there was no certainty that I am a believer,» Alekseyenko told Forum 18 on December 15, 2022. «They said that only representatives of registered denominations have the right to alternative service.» Alekseyenko also said that he believes in Jesus Christ and His commandment to resist evil without violence and to be peacemakers, as stated in the Sermon on the Mount: «But I don’t attend any church because they don’t observe what Christ said.»
On June 6, 2022, Alekseyenko was again summoned to the recruitment office and informed that he was denied alternative service. When he refused mobilization, officials called the police.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against Alekseyenko under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the conscription of reservists in a special period»), which carries a penalty of 3 to 5 years imprisonment.
On September 15, 2022, the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court, with Judge Roman Khorostil presiding, sentenced Alekseyenko to one year in prison, while prosecutor Olha Hazukina had requested a three-year suspended sentence.
Alekseyenko appealed to the Ivano-Frankivsk Court of Appeal, with the hearing taking place on January 16, 2023. The court, consisting of Judges Volodymyr Povzlo, Oleksandr Vasyliev, and Bohdan Kukurudzia, rejected the believer’s appeal against the conviction for refusing military draft based on his convictions.
The judge asked Alekseyenko how he could prove that killing people is incompatible with his religious beliefs. He replied that if the court didn’t believe him, he couldn’t convince it. He again explained his religious reasons against military service.
«I told the court that I agree that I violated Ukrainian law,» Alekseyenko told Forum 18, «but I am not guilty under God’s law.»
Alekseyenko began serving his sentence and was taken into custody on February 23, 2023. He filed a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine on February 18, 2023. The Supreme Court refused to suspend the execution of the sentence during the consideration of the cassation appeal.
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ukraine in Kyiv considered Alekseyenko’s cassation appeal. The day before the hearing, the prison administration transferred Alekseyenko from the Kolomyya colony to the prison in Ivano-Frankivsk, from where he joined the hearings online. Several local and international observers attended the Supreme Court hearings. A panel of three Supreme Court judges headed by Judge Viacheslav Nastavnyi overturned Alekseyenko’s sentence and ordered his release from prison. He was released the same day and returned to his home in Ivano-Frankivsk. However, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial in the court of first instance, the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court, regarding his refusal of mobilization. The Supreme Court ruled that the court of first instance must establish all the circumstances of the case, taking into account the constitutional guarantees provided by Article 35, as well as Ukraine’s international treaties.
At the hearing, prosecutor Andrii Neskorianyi from the Department of Public Prosecutions Management of the General Prosecutor’s Office called on the court to leave the previous court decisions unchanged.
Alekseyenko’s case was covered by the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO). The Norwegian organization «Forum 18» also dedicated an article to him.
Ihor Pavlovych Alyokhin, born in 1978, is a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church (ICC ECB) in the city of Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk region. He was baptized in 2010.
On 5 July 2025, he was forcibly taken from his home to the territorial recruitment center, after which he was sent to a training center in Zakarpattia region. He is assigned to military unit A1363, which transferred him for training. He is currently located at this training center.
In accordance with his religious beliefs, he declared his inability to bear arms. He did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty, but requested to substitute military service with alternative (non-military) service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Under martial law, however, his request was denied.
Mykola Mykolaiovych Arkhiptsov was born on 13 April 1977. He is a member of the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists and a conscientious objector to military service. He resides in the settlement of Bila Krynytsia, Kherson region.
According to Forum 18, as of 10 July 2026, Arkhiptsov was among the ICC ECB believers being held against their will in military units in Ukraine.
The publication does not specify the date or circumstances of his mobilization, his place of detention, or any information about possible criminal proceedings against him.
Serhii Anatoliiovych Arshava, born in 1973, is a member of the ICC ECB church in the village of Malynivka, Kharkiv region.
He was forcibly sent to a military unit despite his refusal to perform armed military service on religious grounds.
In July 2026, it became known that, according to official records of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre (TCR), Serhii Arshava was missing. The circumstances of his disappearance and his current fate are unknown.
Oleh Avdieienko, aged 50, is a member of the ICC ECB church in the village of Bila Krynytsia, Kherson region.
On 14 August 2026, he reported to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre in response to a summons. Avdieienko stated that his religious beliefs did not allow him to take up arms and requested that his military service be replaced with alternative non-military service.
He was subsequently sent to a military unit in Odesa region. According to the ICC ECB, he was temporarily permitted to perform duties as a driver.
Armen Avetisov is a member of the ICC ECB church in Dnipro. He was baptized in 2016.
On 17 July 2026, he was detained by personnel of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre and sent to military unit A1363. Avetisov refused to take the military oath or take up arms, citing his religious beliefs.
He submitted a written report to his commanders, emphasizing that he was not refusing to fulfil his civic duty but was requesting the opportunity to perform non-military service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
Serhii Ivanovych Babchuk, born on 23 September 1972, is a member of the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ICC ECB) in Kyiv.
According to the Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department’s July 2026 bulletin, Babchuk refused to take up arms on religious grounds and was being held in a military unit. The bulletin gave no further details about his detention, the location of the unit, or his subsequent situation.
Illia Babynchuk, 56, is a member of an ICC ECB congregation in the Lviv region.
On 4 August 2026, he was detained and subsequently assigned to serve in Ukraine’s National Guard. Citing his religious beliefs, Babynchuk refused to take the military oath or take up arms.
His relatives reported that he had serious health conditions and sought a new assessment by a military medical commission.
Minister BAHRYNOVSKYI MYKHAILO, Jehovah’s Witness (Bereznehuvatske, Mykolaiv region)
Mykhailo Bahrynovskyi has been a baptized minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses since 2016.
On 15 May 2024, military recruitment officials attempted to serve him with a summons directing him to report the next day for transfer to a military unit. Bahrynovskyi declined to accept the summons on religious grounds and requested alternative civilian service. He did not report for transfer on 16 May.
In court, Bahrynovskyi said he was willing to fulfill his civic duty through alternative service in keeping with his religious beliefs. The Bereznehuvatske District Court rejected his argument, ruling that Ukrainian law did not provide for alternative service in place of military service during mobilization.
The court sentenced Bahrynovskyi to three years in prison. He remained under nighttime house arrest pending the judgment’s entry into force.
Hennadii Hryhorovych Barabash, 48, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 16 February 2026, the Stryi City District Court convicted him under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years in prison. On 30 June 2026, the Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.
Forum 18 reported that Barabash had been in custody since 10 June 2025 and was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19. His projected release date was 10 June 2030.
Jehovah’s Witness Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Baranov was detained on a street in Kyiv by representatives of the TCC and taken to the military recruitment office, where the believer submitted a request for alternative civilian service based on conscientious grounds; however, this application was rejected. Baranov was taken to several military units, but when commanders learned of his conscientious objection to military service, they refused to accept him.
On October 11, 2024, criminal proceedings were initiated against Baranov under Article 402, Part 4 of the Criminal Code («Disobedience committed under martial law or in a combat situation»). This charge can be used against those who are considered to be already in military service. On October 14, 2024, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv issued a ruling to keep him in custody for 60 days.
On January 8, 2025, the prosecutor’s office transferred the criminal case against Baranov to the Darnytskyi District Court of Kyiv. The trial, presided over by Judge Olha Prosalova, began with a preliminary hearing on January 10. She rejected the defense’s petition to transfer Baranov from custody to house arrest or bail. She argued that he risked absconding because he «knows about the severity of the punishment he faces if found guilty of this crime, is aware of the punishment, and knows that this crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years.» She ruled to keep him in custody at the Kyiv Detention Center for another 60 days, until March 10.
Judge Prosalova also rejected the defense’s petition for an open court hearing. «Taking into account that martial law is currently in effect in Ukraine, and information that will be obtained during the trial may lead to the disclosure of the names of military personnel and locations of military units, which the enemy may take advantage of, the court considers it necessary to conduct the trial in a closed session throughout the entire judicial process,» the judge ruled.
Baranov’s trial resumed with hearings on February 11 and 25. Prosecution witnesses did not appear at the March 6 hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for April 22.
Serhii Volodymyrovych Bashkyrov, 58, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 29 January 2026, the Yampil District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended with a two-year probation period. On 18 May 2026, the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term. He was taken into custody on 8 June 2026.
As of 10 July 2026, Forum 18 reported that his appeal to the Supreme Court was pending. He was held at Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution No. 1, with a projected release date of 8 June 2029.
Serhii Batiuzhenko is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. In April 2026, he was held at a training facility of military unit A4848 near Pidlisne in the Dnipropetrovsk region. On 15 April 2026, he refused on religious grounds to put on a military uniform or sign a document concerning military training.
According to accounts published by Forum 18 and the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Batiuzhenko and fellow conscientious objector Eduard Martens were dressed in white robes meant to resemble clothing worn by Jesus, marched in front of assembled troops, and severely beaten with a wooden bat. The next day, Batiuzhenko was reportedly put into a pit about three metres deep, where he spent roughly half a day.
He was hospitalized with a high fever, pneumonia, and extensive bruising. He spent 24 days in hospital.
On 27 April 2026, a complaint was filed with the State Bureau of Investigation’s territorial office in Poltava. A pretrial investigation was opened under Article 426-1, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, and Batiuzhenko was formally recognized as a victim. The European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses reported that the investigation was still open in August 2026 and that no one had been formally notified of suspicion.
Kyrylo Oleksandrovych Berestovyi, born in 1988, has been a member of the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ICC ECB) since his baptism in 2007. He is a forced refugee from Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region who relocated with his family to the city of Khmelnytskyi.
On July 1, 2024, Berestovoy appeared at the military recruitment office in Khmelnytskyi to update his information. He also presented documents confirming his membership in the Baptist church of the Council of Churches. «He refused military service because, according to his religious beliefs, he cannot take up arms and perform military service,» noted the Baptists of the Council of Churches, adding that he «does not intend to shirk his civic duty to the state.» He requested that the recruitment office assign him to alternative civilian service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution.
However, the Khmelnytskyi recruitment office ignored Berestovoy’s request and the documents he presented, and sent him that same night to a military unit in Zakarpattia.
At the unit, he again presented his documents confirming church membership and stated that he could not serve in the army due to conscientious objection. Military officials laughed at him, saying «don’t worry, you’ll still serve with us,» Berestovoy noted in a video message to German pastor Andreas Patz in mid-September 2024. «And I needed to sign various documents—for a salary card, for uniforms, and other various signatures. I refused all signatures.» It was 11 PM and everything was happening in a poorly lit tent in the military camp. After refusing to sign, «one commander grabbed me by the neck and led me out of the tent where it was very dark. I have poor vision and problems with my eyes… And he hit me on the head and in the heart area. I asked him not to do this, but he continued.» The torture continued for about half an hour: «I still stood my ground and refused everything.»
On the morning of July 3, 2024, Berestovoy was transferred to a unit and had not been fed during this time. He again presented his documents and confirmed his request for alternative service, but the documents were not forwarded to the general staff, he said, as the military lawyer refused to discuss his request. Berestovoy declared a hunger strike and reported this to the military unit, the prosecutor’s office, and the military police. An ambulance had to be called several times.
Berestovoy insists that the way he was treated warrants prosecution under Article 127 of the Criminal Code.
Shortly after Berestovoy recorded the video, officials confiscated his phone, Pastor Patz noted on September 21, 2024.
Berestovoy’s wife Oksana and the Baptists of the Council of Churches also confirm the fact of beatings and threats. Pastor Patz also cites an appeal from Berestovoy’s wife Oksana: «His documents for granting him alternative service are not being considered. We were forced to go to court. Results are promised somewhere towards the end of October.»
On October 15, 2024, Oksana Berestovaya told «Forum 18» that officials are now preparing to initiate a case under Article 402 of the Criminal Code (Disobedience): «They recorded a video claiming that he refused to wear a uniform. But he verbally repeated to them that he refuses the military uniform, oath, canteen food, and military salary, but agrees to work in the kitchen. They are trying to make him out to be a criminal.» She also noted: «Kirill asks to be allowed to fulfill his civic duty in a NON-MILITARY way.»
Berestovoy has attempted to challenge his arbitrary detention through the courts, so far without result.
On October 17, 2024, Colonel Sergey Kuzmenko, head of the Military Police in Kyiv, reported that in response to about six appeals from fellow Baptists, three investigations into Berestovoy’s case had been conducted and they had «fully responded» in writing: «The investigation showed that Berestovoy is a soldier and refused to obey orders.» When told that Berestovoy had refused mobilization and is not a soldier, Kuzmenko repeated his assertion.
When asked about the investigation of torture allegations, Colonel Kuzmenko replied that investigators had spoken with commanders in the unit and fellow servicemen (whom he called «disinterested persons»), and they stated that there were «no moral or physical actions» against Berestovoy… «Thus, the accusations were not proven.»
Berestovoy has been held in a military unit against his will since being detained by officials in July. A case under Article 402 of the Criminal Code is being prepared against him.
Vladyslav Bezsonov, a 28-year-old Seventh-day Adventist.
Between 2016 and 2018, he performed alternative civilian service. In 2024, after being stopped and handed a draft notice, he submitted an application requesting to be assigned to alternative non-military service instead of mobilisation. On 26 April 2024, the Poltava Regional Military Administration rejected his request, stating that the consideration of such applications had been suspended during martial law or until the legal regulation of alternative service under martial law is adopted.
Later, he was arbitrarily detained on the street, forcibly taken to a Territorial Recruitment Center, denied contact with his family, subjected to pressure and threats, and forcibly conscripted into the military—despite his repeated declarations of conscientious objection to military service and his refusal to take up arms or wear a military uniform. Since then, he has been held in a military unit.
Pavlo Bezv, a member of the ICC ECB church in Kryvyi Rih, 35 years old.
On the evening of 28 March 2026, Pavlo Bezv was detained. He was taken to a distribution centre near the city of Dnipro. According to available information, he stated his religious beliefs and his refusal to perform military service on grounds of conscience.
On the second day after his detention, he remained in the distribution centre. It was reported that on the morning of 30 March he might be sent to Volyn region.
Pavlo Bezv was baptised in August 2011. He is unmarried.
Andrii Yaroslavovych Bobyk is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and held in custody pending judgment. The Ivano-Frankivsk City Court was still hearing his case as of 10 July 2026.
Tyberii Tyberiiovych Boiok, 42, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 1 May 2026, a court in the Lviv region ordered him into pretrial detention in connection with an alleged military offence. Forum 18 reported in July 2026 that he was being held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Before he was taken into custody, Boiok said that his priority during the ordeal was to remain faithful to Jehovah and bear witness to his faith.
Arkadii Anatoliiovych Bondarenko, born on 1 January 1967, is an ICC ECB member from Bila Tserkva and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 10 July 2026, Forum 18 listed Bondarenko among ICC ECB members being held against their will in Ukrainian military units. The report did not specify when or how he was mobilized, where he was being held, or whether he faced criminal charges.
Ruslan Borus is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service on religious grounds.
On 8 April 2026, officials from the Ternopil military recruitment office came to the garage where Borus was working. According to the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, one official struck him on the left leg with a metal pipe, causing multiple lower-leg fractures, including an open fracture, and severe bleeding.
The report says Borus was forced into a vehicle and later left by the roadside. He lost a substantial amount of blood, was hospitalized, and underwent surgery. The report attributes partial paralysis of his foot to the displaced fractures and nerve damage.
Members of his family and medical staff reported the incident to police.
Believer BRATCHENKO TARAS, Evangelical Christian (Cherkasy)
Taras Bratchenko,an Evangelical Christian.
In 2015, he graduated from a Bible college and attended the Evangelical Church “New Beginning”, which forbids the use of weapons.
In 2023, he was conscripted into the army and was allowed to perform non-combat duties in a border guard unit—working as a stoker, unloading vehicles, and preparing firewood.
On 11 April 2024, he was taken into custody without the right to bail and placed in the Cherkasy pre-trial detention center. He was charged with disobedience for refusing to obey an order to take up arms and deploy to a combat zone. He was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment.
Vasyl Stanislavovych Buhaiev, born in 1974, is an ICC ECB member and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 10 July 2026, Forum 18 listed Buhaiev among ICC ECB members being held against their will in Ukrainian military units. The report gave no details about his mobilization, the location of the unit, or any criminal proceedings.
Believer BULA VOLODYMYR, ICC ECB (Volodymyr, Volyn region)
Volodymyr Bula
Volodymyr Vasylovych Bula, born in 1977, is an ICC ECB member from Volodymyr and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 10 July 2026, Forum 18 reported that Bula was among ICC ECB members being held against their will in Ukrainian military units. The report did not specify the date or circumstances of his mobilization, the location of the unit, or whether any criminal proceedings had been initiated.
Serhii Bulai is an ICC ECB member from Haisyn and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 10 July 2026, Forum 18 listed Bulai among ICC ECB members being held against their will in Ukrainian military units. The report did not give his patronymic or date of birth. It also gave no details about his mobilization, where he was held, or whether he faced criminal charges.
Pavlo Valeriiovych Butmerchuk, born on 21 April 1995, is an ICC ECB member from Kyiv and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 10 July 2026, Forum 18 listed Butmerchuk among ICC ECB members being held against their will in Ukrainian military units. The report did not specify when or how he was mobilized, where he was being held, or whether he faced criminal charges.
Oleksandr Chelaku is a Jehovah’s Witness who refuses military service on religious grounds.
According to an October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, on 16 February 2026 Chelaku showed personnel at the Skelia military unit in Odesa a document confirming his religious affiliation. One serviceman then threatened to torture him.
The report says personnel shot Chelaku with non-lethal plastic rounds. Another serviceman put on gloves with plastic inserts and struck him in the face, causing him to fall and lose consciousness. Chelaku suffered a broken jaw and reportedly received no medical care. The report did not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, p. 15.
Believer CHERNYKH KOSTIANTYN, Jehovah’s Witness (Dnipropetrovsk region, location of military unit)
Kostiantyn Chernykh was a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
According to the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Chernykh had a documented mental health condition. On 26 January 2026, he was forcibly mobilized and sent to military unit A1363 in Zarichne, Dnipropetrovsk region.
After 11 days in the unit, he was hospitalized with pneumonia and frostbite to his hands and feet. He died four days later. The report cites his death certificate as listing multiple organ failure, sepsis, right-sided polysegmental pneumonia, third- and fourth-degree frostbite to both feet, and first- and second-degree frostbite to both hands.
Believer CHOVGAN KOSTIANTYN, International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ICCECB) (Pervomaisk, Kharkiv region)
Kostiantyn Volodymyrovych Chovgan, born in 1971, has been a member of the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in the city of Pervomaisk, Kharkiv region, since 2022.
The military recruitment office of Sakhnovshchyna, a settlement in the Krasnohrad district of Kharkiv region, summoned Chovgan on November 17, 2023, despite the fact that his wife is a second-group disabled person whom he cares for. The military recruitment office refused to accept his explanations regarding his refusal to serve in the army on grounds of conscience and his request to postpone his conscription due to the need to care for his wife. He and his lawyer had to send the request by mail.
«Representatives of the military recruitment office ignored his request for deferment from mobilization due to religious beliefs,» local Baptists noted on December 26, 2023, «and transferred his case to investigative authorities.» However, on December 30, 2023, he was granted a one-year deferment from mobilization.
In February 2024, Chovgan was notified that a criminal case had been opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the call-up of reservists in a special period»). He unsuccessfully tried to challenge the criminal case in court.
«I didn’t hide – I’m a Baptist,» Chovgan told Forum 18. He said he reminded officials of his right to alternative civilian service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution, «but they look at you as if you’re just making it up.»
Chovgan’s case was scheduled to be heard in court on May 24, 2024, with the case being considered by Judge Olexander Zimovsky of the Sakhnovshchyna District Court of Kharkiv region. A new court date has been set for January 31, 2025, and the case will be heard again on March 18, 2025.
Ihor Chykhychyn, 36, is a member of an ICC ECB congregation in Derhachi.
He was mobilized on 20 August 2026. Citing his religious beliefs, he refused to take the military oath or take up arms. He said he was willing to fulfill his civic duty and asked to do so through non-military service.
After mobilization, he was sent to a military unit in the Sumy region.
Pastor Tymur Chyzhov, baptized in 2006, is a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church “Bethany,” whose doctrine forbids the use of weapons. After the start of the Russian invasion, he relocated from Mariupol to the village of Budiatychi in Volyn Region.
On 29 January 2024, he was forcibly taken by servicemen of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) to a military unit.
He was promised non-combat service—without weapons, military uniform, or taking the oath—which he agreed to. However, after mobilization, the commander ordered him to take up arms. He refused and was subsequently charged with disobedience. He was detained in May 2024 but soon released on bail, with the condition that he return to the military unit and continue service.
He returned home and unsuccessfully attempted to leave Ukraine.
In June 2024, he was detained again, deprived of liberty, and placed in Lviv Correctional Facility No. 19, where he was additionally charged with desertion.
On 22 November 2024, the Sheptytskyi City Court of Lviv Region found him not guilty of desertion, but guilty of disobedience, and sentenced him to 5 years of imprisonment. On 28 February 2025, the Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the verdict, citing the position of the Supreme Court that no religious beliefs can justify evading military service. He has filed a cassation appeal.
Zoltan Ivanovych Demesh, 43, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 8 April 2026, the Lychakiv District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention. The court allowed for release on bail on condition that he live at a military facility. Demesh declined that condition on grounds of conscience.
On 22 June 2026, the Yavoriv District Court convicted him under Article 402, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed one year of probation. Forum 18 reported that he remained in custody at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19 as of 10 July 2026.
Mykhailo Anatoliiovych Diavoliuk, 46, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 20 April 2026, the Zaliznychnyi District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Volodymyr Dovhanych, presbyter of the ICC ECB church in the settlement of Bushtyno, Zakarpattia region, 51 years old.
On 23 June 2026, Volodymyr Dovhanych was detained by officers of the Border Guard Service. He is currently being held in military unit A1493 — the 94th Border Guard Detachment in the city of Chop.
According to his relatives, Volodymyr Dovhanych has refused food. He has also refused to take the military oath or take up arms in accordance with his religious beliefs.
Volodymyr does not refuse to fulfil his civic duty, but asks that military service be replaced with non-military service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. According to the Advocacy Department of the ICC ECB, these arguments were ignored.
His relatives and fellow believers ask that Volodymyr Dovhanych’s family be supported and that appeals be made for him to be allowed to fulfil his civic duty in a way that respects his religious beliefs — without being required to take up arms, take the military oath, or undergo military training.
Vadym Dromov, 44, has been a member of the ICC ECB congregation in Izmail since 2019.
He was detained in Izmail on 29 August 2026. Members of his religious community asked the military recruitment office to take his beliefs into account and allow him to fulfill his civic duty through non-military service.
The available report did not say where he was taken after his detention or whether the request was granted.
Mykhailo Drozdov, born on 11 October 1996, is an ICC ECB member from Kyiv.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026
Serhii Oleksandrovych Dudoladov is a Pentecostal and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 13 November 2025, the Teplyk District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with one year of probation.
On 30 January 2026, the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term. As of 10 July 2026, he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 in the Mykolaiv region.
Denys Yevhenovych Dudyn, born on 23 May 1979, is an ICC ECB member from Chuhuiv.
In January 2025, he was taken to the military recruitment office in Kupiansk and then transferred between training units over several days. He refused to take the military oath or take up arms, citing his religious beliefs.
Criminal proceedings under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code began in March 2025. The trial court sentenced Dudyn to three years in prison, and the Kharkiv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 2 April 2026.
His defence filed a cassation appeal with Ukraine’s Supreme Court. He remained out of custody while that appeal was pending, according to the available reporting.
Maksym Dvernik, 29, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. From 2017 to 2020, he performed alternative civilian service in place of military service.
After general mobilization began, he was prosecuted for refusing military service. A court in the Zhytomyr region sentenced him to three years in prison, and he began serving the sentence on 31 July 2026.
Valerii Mykolaiovych Fedoruk is a conscientious objector whose denomination is unspecified in the available reporting.
On 15 February 2024, the Katerynopil District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with one year of probation. On 14 October 2024, the Cherkasy Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term.
As of July 2026, he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 in the Mykolaiv region.
Zoltan Habor, identified as Zoltan Gabor in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ publication, is a 45-year-old resident of Berehove.
In February 2024, a court in the Zakarpattia region sentenced him to three years in prison for refusing military service. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was outside the religious community at the time of his conviction. While in prison, he began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and later became an unbaptized publisher.
The publication did not specify his reasons for initially refusing military service, the criminal provision under which he was convicted, or where he was imprisoned.
Believer HALAHAN PAVLO, Seventh-day Adventist Church (Uzhhorod)
Pavlo Galagan
Pavlo Serhiyovych Halagan, born in 1974, is a Seventh-day Adventist.
On January 10, 2024, military commissariat employees detained him in the city of Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia region, and refused to accept his written application for alternative civilian service.
After Halagan was repeatedly summoned in the following months, on June 5, 2024, employees of the Perechyn military commissariat detained him again. They held him for six hours and at 1 AM delivered him to a military unit in Rivne region. He again declared to the military his refusal of military service and carrying weapons based on his beliefs, and again requested alternative civilian service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution.
The officials then returned Halagan to Uzhhorod to the Zakarpattia regional military commissariat. Employees there denied his request to contact a lawyer. Then, on the night of June 8, 2024, he was taken to a military unit in Cherkasy. He was among 11 conscientious objectors, nine of whom were Jehovah’s Witnesses and one a Baptist. All of them wrote statements requesting alternative civilian service. Their cases were returned to the Zakarpattia regional military commissariat. Officials released the 11 men early in the morning on June 9, 2024.
«We were left alone in the middle of the night after 1 AM during curfew in another city, without personal registration documents, without money, without warning,» Halagan complained, «and without explaining to us why the statements we signed about returning to the military commissariat were necessary.»
Upon returning to Uzhgorod, Halagan filed a complaint with the Uzhgorod District Police against employees of the Zakarpattia regional military commissariat.
On June 11, 2024, Uzhgorod military commissariat employees directed Halagan to their chief, Igor Tyshchuk. However, according to Galagan, he was arbitrarily detained there, and staff subjected him and other detainees to torture and other crimes: «I heard insane, inhuman screams and threats from Uzhgorod military commissariat branch employees who were forcing a man of Hungarian origin to sign documents, his groans from ruthless, cruel beatings, torture and mutilation by Uzhgorod military commissariat branch employees.»
In his complaint dated June 25, 2024, addressed to Oleh Yanchinskiy, head of the Uzhgorod District Police, Halagan added that during that day he «was subjected to psychological and moral pressure from employees of the Uzhhorod military commissariat branch, which led» him to a nervous breakdown. He noted: «After that, they chained me to a bed and began to physically torture, beat, and assault me. I was beaten by an employee named Oleksandr. Blows were inflicted on my body and head, beating with hands, fists, and feet.»
Officials pressured Halagan to sign a summons, which he signed «in a state of shock and agitation after brutal physical violence, cruel torture, mutilation, dizziness, in a state of extreme physical exhaustion, inability to assess reality to make the right decision, inability to clearly see what was written in a dark room due to my eye disease (glaucoma).» The officials then allowed him to go home.
Galagan reported to the police that the officials’ actions violated numerous articles of the Criminal Code, including Article 127 (torture), Article 126 (battery), Article 40 (coercion to commit a crime), Article 364 (abuse of authority), and articles punishing unlawful detention. He requested an investigation of the officials involved.
On October 15, 2024, Halagan told «Forum 18» that he had written to the police, military police, and prosecutor’s office, but «they all transferred my complaints to someone else. Then they said they were transferred to the Military Police, but they do not respond.»
Davyd Volodymyrovych Harbovskyi, born on 23 October 1997, is an ICC ECB member from Viry.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Oleksandr Hariachykh, born in 1980, is an ICC ECB member from Kvasyliv.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Yurii Viktorovych Harkusha is a Baptist and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 7 November 2025, the Kherson City Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a suspended sentence. Forum 18 lists the probation period as possibly one year.
Prosecutors appealed. On 1 April 2026, the Kherson Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal.
Ruslan Leonidovych Hasiuk, born on 18 August 1973, is an ICC ECB member from Kovel.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Denys Myroslavovych Havranyk, 28, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 8 May 2026, a court in the Zakarpattia region ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Zakarpattia Penitentiary Institution No. 9.
Believer HERMAN VOLODYMYR, ICC ECB (Novoukrainka, Kirovohrad region)
Volodymyr Herman
Volodymyr Herman is a member of the ICC ECB congregation in Novoukrainka. He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code with evading conscription during mobilization. Herman said he was willing to fulfill his civic duty through non-military service because his religious beliefs prevented him from taking up arms.
According to the ICC ECB, in March 2026 he was held for seven days at the military recruitment office in Kropyvnytskyi and then for about another week in the basement of the recruitment office in Novoukrainka.
Ihor Mykolaiovych Hodunko, born in 1971, is an ICC ECB member from Kvasyliv.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer HOLIK VALERII, Jehovah’s Witness (Lviv region, location of military unit)
Valerii Holik is a Jehovah’s Witness who refuses military service on religious grounds. According to an October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was forcibly sent to military unit A7013 near Starychi despite presenting medical documentation of his epilepsy.
The report says Holik was kept in an unheated tent in freezing conditions. He fell ill after being made to spend a night outdoors at about −15 °C. For ten days, he was kept outdoors during the day in an area enclosed with barbed wire. On some days, he was denied food and water.
According to the report, on 15 March 2026, three servicemen acting on the orders of duty officer Andrii Bakai took Holik to a basement, stripped him to his underwear, and beat him. They reportedly struck him about ten times with a shovel, including blows to his head. He was left on the floor for several hours and denied food, water, and access to a toilet that day. The next day, he was made to do physical work despite chest pain and difficulty breathing.
The report did not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, p. 14.
Oleksii Eduardovych Holoviatynskyi, 49, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 8 April 2026, the Lychakiv District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Oleksandr Vitaliiovych Homon, born on 11 July 1992, is an ICC ECB member from Kyiv.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer HORA OLEH, ICC ECB (Lozova, Kharkiv region)
Oleh Hora
Oleh Hora is an ICC ECB member from Lozova. After mobilization, he requested non-military service because his religious beliefs prevented him from taking up arms. According to the ICC ECB, his request was denied.
Hora was sent to a military unit near Izium, where he was seriously wounded in an attack involving guided aerial bombs. The ICC ECB reported that he had undergone four operations and was still receiving treatment.
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Horbatiuk is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code with evading conscription during mobilization. His trial at the Lutsk City District Court was ongoing as of 10 July 2026.
Illia Anatoliiovych Hordiiev, born on 21 October 1992, is an ICC ECB member from Dnipro.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer HORDYNSKYI YURII, Jehovah’s Witness
Yurii Hordynskyi is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
In September or October 2025, he was ordered into pretrial detention for at least two months in connection with an alleged military offence. Forum 18 listed him among conscientious objectors in pretrial detention in its July 2026 report. The report did not identify the detention centre.
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Hoshii, 49, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 3 June 2026, a court in the Zakarpattia region ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Zakarpattia Penitentiary Institution No. 9.
Vitalii Humeniuk, born in 1972, was baptized in 2013 and is a member of the Borshchagovka Baptist Church of the Council of Churches in Kyiv.
On September 24, 2024, the Military Medical Commission of the Svyatoshinsky military commissariat declared Vitalii Gumenyuk fit for military service. «They tried to hand him a military summons, and he refused, asking them to apply Article 35 to him,» noted the Council of Churches Baptists on the same day. «They didn’t want to listen to anything, drew up a document about refusal based on religious beliefs and are preparing documents for submission to court.» Humenyuk was then released.
Petro Oleksandrovych Husak, born in 1996, is a member of the Church of the Evangelical Christian Baptists (CCU ECB) in Ternopil.
He was detained on June 8, 2025, in Ternopil and was immediately taken to a training center, bypassing the military medical commission. He declared his conscientious objection to taking the military oath and bearing arms, and requested to be assigned to non-military service instead. However, his beliefs were ignored. He was held involuntarily at the A4152 training center.
Tymofii Husak, a member of the ICC ECB church in Ternopil.
He was baptised in 2013. On 25 April 2026, he got married.
On 15 May 2026, Tymofii Husak was detained by officers of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre. According to the Advocacy Department of the ICC ECB, he refused to take up arms and to take the military oath on religious grounds.
At the same time, Tymofii did not evade his civic duties, but requested that military service be replaced with non-military service in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. According to the Advocacy Department, these arguments were not taken into account.
According to believers, Tymofii was held at the recruitment centre for five days, after which he was sent to military unit A1962 — the 60th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
His wife reported that he is being subjected to moral and psychological pressure because of his religious beliefs.
Ruslan Mykolaiovych Ishchenko, born in 1971, is an ICC ECB member from Bila Tserkva.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Yehor Anatoliiovych Isieiev, born in 1995, is an ICC ECB member from Uzhhorod.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin. Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
SerhiI Viktorovych Ivanyushchenko, a Jehovah’s Witness, is a conscientious objector to military service. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period»). On March 28, 2024, the Belopolsky District Court of Sumy region (Judge Anna Zamchenko) sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment.
Disagreeing with the decision, the defense filed an appeal. The Sumy Court of Appeal rejected his appeal on December 13, 2024.
On February 11, 2025, Ivanyushchenko was delivered to a prison in the village of Grushino south of Kharkiv to serve his sentence of imprisonment. He filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which scheduled a hearing of the appeal for April 15.
Prisoner’s address: 64131, Kharkiv region Lozova district Village Grushino St. Primiska, building 132 Pervomaisk Correctional Colony No. 117 Ukraine
Mykola Fedorovych Ivanskyi, 55, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
In September or October 2025, he was ordered into pretrial detention for at least two months. As of July 2026, Forum 18 reported that he was held at Dnipro Penitentiary Institution No. 4.
Vasyl Manuilovych Ivanytskyi is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged with disobedience under Article 402, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Kolomyia City District Court was hearing the case. Forum 18 reported that the next hearing was scheduled for 25 September 2026.
Veniamin Petrovich Kachankov, born in 1996, is a member of the Church of the Evangelical Christian Baptists (MSCU ECB) in the village of Tupaly, Volyn region.
On 26 May 2025, he was detained at a checkpoint by officers of the Kremenets Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center while driving a cargo vehicle. He was not listed as wanted.
Veniamin was taken to the A3211 training center in Lviv region. In accordance with his religious beliefs, he refused to take the military oath and to bear arms. However, he did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty and requested to substitute military service with alternative (non-military) service, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Unfortunately, these arguments were not taken into account, as Ukrainian legislation does not regulate the procedure for alternative service during martial law.
Oleh Kachur, born in 1997, is an ICC ECB member from Zhytomyr. He refused to take up arms on religious grounds. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer KALENCHUK VOLODYMYR, Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (village Kurne, Zhytomyr region)
Volodymyr Viktorovych Kalenchuk, born in 1975, is a member of the Baptist community of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in the village of Kurne, Zhytomyr region, and was baptized in 2015.
Krasnoarmeysky District Court in Pulyny, the Council of Churches-Baptists noted on the same day.
Kalenchuk was summoned to the military commissariat repeatedly, and each time he stated that he is a Christian and cannot take up arms. His fellow believers noted in a conversation with «Forum 18»: «He also repeatedly submitted documents confirming his religious beliefs and asked to be provided, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, with the opportunity to fulfill his civic duty by performing non-military service, since brother Vladimir does not intend to evade military service as the fulfillment of his civic duty.»
On February 16, 2024, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against Kalenchuk under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the call-up of reservists in a special period»). On March 13, 2024, he was summoned to the police and handed a notification that he was now a suspect. He was then taken to the prosecutor’s office, where he was informed that his case would be referred to the Krasnoarmeysky District Court in Pulyny.
The hearing of the case in the Krasnoarmeysky District Court of Zhytomyr region began on July 1, 2024. The next hearing took place on July 17, 2024. A new hearing will be held in the Krasnoarmeysky District Court of Zhytomyr region (Judge Taisia Ryabenko) on March 17, 2025.
Volodymyr Viktorovych Kamenskykh, born in 1976, is an ICC ECB member from Kvasyliv. When mobilized, he refused to take up arms on religious grounds. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Oleksii Mykolayovych Kamyanyi, born in 1997, is a Pentecostal who opposes military service on conscientious grounds. On October 17, 2024, he told «Forum 18»: «I was taught from childhood that killing people is a sin. I rely on the word of God.»
Kamennoy also reported that on June 12, 2024, employees of the Kamianets-Podilskyi district military commissariat in Khmelnytskyi region kidnapped him and forcibly delivered him to a military unit, despite his requests for alternative civilian service due to conscientious objection.
The officials then held Kamennoy in various military units for 24 days. «These transfers were constantly accompanied by humiliation and oppression regarding my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Due to the fact that my religion forbids me to take up arms, I, Alexey Nikolaevich Kamennoy, was constantly subjected to moral and emotional violence.»
After returning Kamennoy to the Kamianets-Podilskyi district military commissariat, during the day on July 5, 2024, two employees—whom he identified as Vadim and Marian—tortured him: «They beat me with their hands and feet on my back, body, and head,» Kamennoy wrote in a statement. «The beating was accompanied by mockery and insults directed at me; the people beating me insisted that I renounce my faith in God, they constantly said that belief in God is a delusion.» After the beating, the officials released Kamennoy.
Kamennoy told «Forum 18» that during the beating, he lost consciousness. The officials then doused him with cold water before continuing the beating. After this, the officials brought him to the head of the military commissariat, Andrey Shukhanov (who has since been transferred to another position). According to Kamennoy, he knew about his application for alternative service and about the beating but did nothing.
Kamennoy then wrote a statement to the police and the State Bureau of Investigation, but his statements were rejected due to an alleged lack of evidence, although the believer had photographs and video materials confirming his beating.
Kamennoy’s wife also wrote a complaint to the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Dmytro Lubinets, but according to her, she received a response from there that «they have nothing to investigate.»
Kamennoy complained that the people who beat him remained unpunished, and he believes that his life is in danger: «I asked for help from the prosecutor’s office, but after they accepted my statement, no one did anything, and people again remained unpunished.»
The police are also considering opening a case against Kamennoy under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period»). He told «Forum 18»: «Officials came to my church to inquire about me. I don’t know if a criminal case has already been opened.»
Kamennoy said he knows of at least four other local conscientious objectors—Baptists and Pentecostals—who were threatened and tortured with beatings in 2024 for refusing mobilization on conscientious grounds. One was beaten twice in September, he added.
Myroslav Vasylovych Kaniuk, born in 1974, is an ICC ECB member from Uzhhorod. He refused armed military service on religious grounds and was being held in a military unit as of July 2026.
The ICC ECB bulletin also reported criminal proceedings against him. It did not specify the charge or the stage of the proceedings.
Volodymyr Kanunnikov, born in 1976, is an ICC ECB member from Derhachi. The Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department listed him among members who had refused to take up arms and were being held in military units as of July 2026.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Vladyslav Karabetskyi is a Jehovah’s Witness who refuses military service on religious grounds.
According to an October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, on 24 February 2026 he was forcibly taken to the Biliaivka military recruitment office in the Odesa region. He was declared fit for military service despite having bipolar disorder and receiving treatment.
Karabetskyi was sent to a processing centre of the 425th Separate Assault Battalion Skelia near Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He developed pneumonia there. The report says that despite a high fever and cough, he was made to chop wood from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and then carry it until 7 a.m.
After he explained his religious beliefs, a company commander known by the call sign Karyi reportedly made him negotiate an obstacle course involving ice and freezing water. When Karabetskyi refused to put on a military uniform, the commander allegedly ordered him beaten. Two servicemen known as Bima and Panama took him into a closed room and punched and kicked him, according to the report.
The report also records his presence at a facility of the 155th Anne of Kyiv Brigade near Kapitanivka in the Kirovohrad region and at a Skelia training centre near Izium in the Kharkiv region. It did not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, p. 14.
Believer KESHMAN ANATOLII, Christian (Mankivka, Cherkasy region)
Anatolii Valentynovych Keshman is a Christian and a conscientious objector to military service. His denomination was not specified.
On 24 February 2025, the Mankivka District Court sentenced him to three years in prison under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Cherkasy Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 9 December 2025.
As of July 2026, he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 in the Mykolaiv region.
Viacheslav Leonidovych Kharenko, born on 9 January 2001, is an ICC ECB member from Balakliia. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Andrii Borysovych Khomenko, a Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector to military service. On April 10, 2024, a criminal case was opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by calling up reservists in a special period»).
On July 26, 2024, the Akhtyrsky District Court of Sumy region (Judge Tamara Yaroshenko) sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. Disagreeing with the decision, the defense filed an appeal. The Sumy Court of Appeal rejected his appeal on December 23, 2024.
On 3 February 2025, Khomenko was taken into custody to begin serving his prison sentence at the temporary detention center in Sumy, where he is awaiting transfer to a prison facility. He has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court and is expected to remain in the Sumy detention center until the appeal is considered.
His cassation appeal is currently under review by the Supreme Court, with a hearing scheduled for 25 September 2025.
Shortly before his imprisonment, Andrii said:
“Jehovah gives me peace in my heart. I am confident that, no matter the circumstances I may face, Jehovah will always be near and will never leave me without support.”
Ruslan Khramtsov, 39, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 2 March 2026, the Lychakiv District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 did not specify the charge or identify the detention facility.
Ihor Oleksiiovych Kiktiev, born in 1989, is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 9 June 2026, the Kozelets District Court convicted him under Articles 402 and 409, Part 4 of each article, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years and one month in prison.
His appeal to the Chernihiv Court of Appeal was pending as of 10 July 2026.
Volodymyr Kostiantynovych Klementiev, 42, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 9 March 2026, the Mykolaiv District Court convicted him under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to six years in prison. The Mykolaiv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 14 May 2026.
Klementiev had been in custody since 20 October 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Mykolaiv Detention Centre and listed 20 October 2031 as his projected release date.
In a separate case, the Kherson City Court handed down a judgment against him under Article 336 on 27 January 2026. That judgment was also appealed.
Ruslan Yakovych Kliuchnyk, born in 1974, is an ICC ECB member from Kremenchuk. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Vasyl Pavlovych Kononchuk, 54, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 28 January 2026, the Dubrovytsia District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. He was taken into custody that day. The Rivne Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 26 May 2026.
Forum 18 reported that he was held at Rivne Detention Centre and listed 28 January 2029 as his projected release date.
Believer KORKACH RUSLAN, Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Bucha, Kyiv region)
Ruslan Korkach, born in 1996, member of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists.
On September 24, 2024, he was summoned to the military recruitment office in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region. «He testified about his religious beliefs,» noted the Baptists of the Council of Churches on the same day. «They forced him to sign documents and various statements, but he refused.» After threats to send him for military training in Uman, the officials released him.
On September 25, 2024, after Korkach again demanded the application of Article 35 of the Constitution to his case, the military recruitment office officials drafted a document of refusal. They told him to return the next day with his belongings.
Ruslan Korobeinyk is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector from Kremenchuk. In 2026, he was forcibly sent to a training facility of military unit A4848 near Pidlisne in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He refused military service and declined to wear a uniform on religious grounds.
According to accounts published by Forum 18, personnel beat Korobeinyk for refusing to wear a uniform or comply with demands that conflicted with his beliefs. He lost consciousness during one of the beatings.
Forum 18 documented his case alongside those of Serhii Batiuzhenko and Eduard Martens, who reported abuse at the same facility.
Volodymyr Ivanovych Koshkalda, born in 1973, is an ICC ECB member from Uzhhorod. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Dmytro Bohdanovych Koval, born on 30 January 1976, was a member of an ICC ECB congregation in Kovel.
On 1 March 2026, recruitment officials forcibly took him to a military recruitment office. He refused armed military service on religious grounds and requested alternative civilian service. His request was denied.
On 6 March 2026, he was taken to the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia. He died on 21 March 2026. His death certificate listed unspecified cardiopulmonary insufficiency as the cause and recorded that he died in a vehicle.
His body was returned to his family on 30 March 2026. Relatives and fellow church members reported visible signs of severe mistreatment. The Military Ombudsperson’s Office said it forwarded materials from its review of the complaints to the National Police in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Pavlo Oleksandrovych Kovalchuk is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Rozdilna District Court was hearing his case as of July 2026. Forum 18 listed 26 August 2026 as the scheduled date of the next hearing.
Believer KOVALENKO OLEKSII, Dzogchen Buddhist (Kyiv)
Oleksii Oleksandrovych Kovalenko, born on 30 November 1980, follows the Dzogchen Buddhist tradition and is a conscientious objector to military service.
On 9 October 2024, the Darnytskyi District Court in Kyiv convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to four years in prison. The Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. On 11 December 2025, Ukraine’s Supreme Court declined to open cassation proceedings.
Kovalenko had been in custody since 27 October 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 and listed 27 October 2029 as his projected release date.
Oleksandr Petrovych Kovtun, 47, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
Criminal proceedings were opened against him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. As of 10 July 2026, he was in pretrial detention at Khmelnytskyi Detention Centre.
Dmytro Serhiiovych Kozhemiakin, 36, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 26 January 2026, the Kalynivka District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with one year of probation.
On 28 April 2026, the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term. He was taken into custody on 26 May 2026. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution No. 1 and listed 26 May 2029 as his projected release date.
Yosyp Mykolaiovych Kravchenko, born on 11 August 1997, is an ICC ECB member from Chernihiv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer KRAVTSOV ARTEM, Baptist (Ternuvate village, Pervomaisk district, Mykolaiv region)
Artem Mykolayovych Kravtsov, born in 1993, resident of Ternuvate village in Pervomaisk district of Mykolaiv region, joined the Baptist church in the village in April 2019 and was baptized later that same year. The small community is connected to the church in Pervomaisk, which is part of the Baptist Union.
On April 13, 2022, the military medical commission declared Kravtsov fit for mobilization. On September 10, 2022, military recruitment office officials summoned him for mobilization within two days.
In court, Kravtsov explained how he presented his protest against mobilization. «He explained that his religious beliefs do not allow him to use weapons,» his statement is quoted in the subsequent verdict. «He repeatedly pointed this out to the military recruitment office and informed the recruitment office staff that performing military duty contradicts his religious beliefs. He provided a certificate from the Church confirming the relevant circumstances.»
The leader of the regional Baptist union confirmed to «Forum 18» that the church in Pervomaisk provided all necessary documents confirming Kravtsov’s church membership. He emphasized that Kravtsov’s decision to refuse mobilization on grounds of conscience was a personal decision.
On October 19, 2022, Judge Elena Repushevskaya of the Kryvoozerskyi District Court found Kravtsov guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the call-up of reservists in a special period»).
«The court does not accept the explanation of the accused Kravtsov that his membership in the Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, whose religious beliefs do not permit the use of weapons, gives him the right to exemption from conscription for military service during mobilization,» the verdict states.
Judge Repushevskaya sentenced Kravtsov to four years of imprisonment with a three-year suspension.
Vitaliy Kriushenok (born 1985), an elder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bilopillia, Sumy region. He has been attending the religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses since 1992 and became a baptized member of the congregation (community) in 2004.
On March 26, 2024, the believer received a summons to the urban-type settlement of Kyrykovtsy to appear at the TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) for an initial interview. On March 28, he appeared at the TCC as summoned, from where he was sent to another TCC at his place of registration. He appeared there on April 1 and requested to replace military service with alternative service.
He was ordered to undergo a medical examination, which declared Kriushenok fit for military service. As a result, he was given a summons to appear on April 8, 2024, for military training.
He did not appear as summoned, and when called, he responded that he insisted on replacing service with an alternative option.
As a result, a criminal case was opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (evasion of conscription during mobilization). The court hearing took place on July 8, 2024, at the Bilopillia District Court of Sumy region. The court sentenced the man to 3 years of imprisonment.
Disagreeing with the decision, the defense filed an appeal. The Sumy Court of Appeal rejected his appeal on December 5, 2024, according to the decision reviewed by Forum 18.
On January 27, 2025, Kriushenok was taken to serve his sentence in a temporary detention facility in Sumy, awaiting transfer to prison. He has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court and is expected to remain in the Sumy detention center until further appeal is considered. The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for the hearing.
Kriushenok became the first Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objector to be imprisoned in Ukraine.
Dmytro Kucherov, member of the Pentecostal church «Source of Life,» Alexandria, Kirovohrad region.
On April 29, 2022, he was summoned for medical examination at the military recruitment office. He refused mobilization due to his Christian faith. On June 21, 2022, he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment with probation.
Believer KUCHYNSKYI OLEKSANDR, International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Sharhorod, Zhmerynka district, Vinnytsia region)
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Kuchynskyi, born in 1981, member of the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists church of Sharhorod, Zhmerynka district, Vinnytsia region.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») was scheduled at the Sharhorod District Court (Judge Andreya Rozdorozhnaya) for January 29, 2025. The next hearing of the case will take place on March 18, 2025.
Serhii Volodymyrovych Kulinich, born in 1995, was an ICC ECB member from Odesa.
The Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department’s July 2026 bulletin listed him in a section commemorating members who had lost their lives after standing by their religious convictions. The bulletin did not give the date of his death or describe the circumstances of his mobilization or death.
Believer KUROCHKIN OLEXANDER, Seventh-day Adventist Church (Odessa)
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Kurochkin, born in 1984, Seventh-day Adventist.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») was scheduled at the Suvorovsky District Court of Odessa (Judge Dmitry Shkuropeev) for March 20, 2025.
Roman Yaroslavovych Kvik, 39, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 23 May 2025, the Netishyn City Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 17 November 2025, and he was taken into custody on 11 December 2025.
On 6 May 2026, Ukraine’s Supreme Court left the conviction in place and replaced immediate imprisonment with two years of probation. Kvik was released the same day.
Vitalii Stanislavovych Lenchytskyi, born on 4 April 1975, is an ICC ECB member from Rivne. He refused to take up arms on religious grounds and was being held against his will in a military unit as of July 2026.
The available report did not identify the unit or give further details about his detention or subsequent situation.
Davyd Lisianyi is an ordained evangelist of the ICC ECB congregation in Znamianka.
He was detained on 23 August 2026. After three days at a military recruitment office, he was transferred to a military unit in the Kyiv region.
He refused to take up arms or take the military oath on religious grounds. The ICC ECB reported that he was permitted to perform duties without carrying a weapon or taking the oath.
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Liubchenko, 43, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. On 5 November 2025, a court ordered him into pretrial detention for at least three months.
He was released on bail in 2026. The Kostopil District Court was hearing his case as of July, and Forum 18 listed 6 August 2026 as the scheduled date of the next hearing.
Believer LOLA VITALII, Christian (Hoshcha, Rivne region)
Vitalii Mykhailovych Lola is a Christian and a conscientious objector to military service. His denomination was not specified.
On 13 March 2025, the Hoshcha District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with one year of probation.
On 12 September 2025, the Rivne Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term. He was taken into custody the same day. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 and listed 12 September 2028 as his projected release date.
Yurii Lomakovych, born on 22 March 1997, is an ICC ECB member from Kyiv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Ruslan Oleksandrovych Lychyk, born on 16 July 1998, is an ICC ECB member from Shepetivka.
He refused to take up arms on religious grounds and was being held in a military unit as of July 2026. The available report gave no further details about his mobilization or subsequent situation.
Serhii Lysenko, 50, is an ICC ECB member from Khmelnytskyi.
In December 2025, he was detained and forcibly sent to a military unit despite refusing armed military service on religious grounds.
On 24 March 2026, he went missing near Reznikivka in the Donetsk region. At the time of reporting, it had not been established whether he had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
Dmytro Lysyk, born on 22 September 1987, is an ICC ECB member from Odesa. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Serhii Volodymyrovych Mandziuk, born on 16 May 1971, is an ICC ECB member from Lutsk. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Dmytro Mantulenko, born on 5 June 1973, is an ICC ECB member from Kryvyi Rih. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Andrii Mykhailovych Marhita, born on 30 July 2000, is an ICC ECB member from Deshkovytsia. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer MARKO MYKOLA, ICC ECB (Kherson, Kherson region)
Mykola Marko
Mykola Mykolaiovych Marko, 35, is a member of an ICC ECB congregation in Kherson.
On 5 November 2025, the Kherson City Court sentenced him to three years in prison under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for refusing mobilization on religious grounds. The sentence was appealed.
On 10 August 2026, military recruitment officials detained Marko in Mykolaiv and sent him to military unit A0989. He again refused to take up arms and requested non-military service.
Believer MARKO VIKTOR, Jehovah’s Witness (Chortkiv, Ternopil region)
Viktor Marko
Viktor Mykhailovych Marko, born in 1995, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He cared for his elderly parents and grandmother.
On 8 November 2024, the Chortkiv District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Ternopil Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 3 December 2025. Marko was taken into custody on 22 January 2026 and held at Chortkiv Penitentiary Institution No. 26.
On 19 August 2026, Ukraine’s Supreme Court left the conviction in place and replaced immediate imprisonment with two years of probation. He was released the same day.
Eduard Oleksandrovych Martens, 53, had been a Jehovah’s Witness for 29 years at the time of the events, according to Forum 18.
On 27 March 2026, officials from the Shevchenkivskyi District military recruitment office in Zaporizhzhia detained him. Martens said his religious beliefs prevented him from performing military service. The first unit to which he was sent declined to take him on health grounds and returned him to the recruitment office. He was transferred the following day to another unit in the Dnipropetrovsk region and later to a training facility of military unit A4848 near Pidlisne. There he refused to put on a military uniform or sign a document concerning military training.
According to accounts published by Forum 18 and the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, on 15 April 2026personnel dressed Martens and Serhii Batiuzhenko in white robes meant to resemble clothing worn by Jesus, marched them in front of assembled troops, and beat them with a wooden bat. Martens was reportedly beaten again the next day after refusing to put on a uniform. The report says he went into convulsions and lost consciousness.
His arm was broken in two places and his wrist was fractured. For about a month, his arm was held in place with a piece of wood while he went without the treatment he needed. On 14 May 2026, following intervention by the State Bureau of Investigation, he was taken to hospital. He later needed surgery involving a bone graft from his thigh.
Martens was formally recognized as a victim in the criminal proceedings. The pretrial investigation was still underway as of August 2026.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») is scheduled for March 24, 2025. The case will be heard by the Dubno District Court (Judge Sergey Makeev).
Yurii Ivanovych Matviichuk, born on 23 December 1967, is an ICC ECB member from Shepetivka. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Ihor Mykolaiovych Melnychenko, 35, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 9 February 2026, his pretrial detention was extended. As of July 2026, he was being held at Rivne Detention Centre.
Believer MELNYK NAZAR, International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Sarny, Rivne region)
Nazar Serhiyovych Melnyk, born in 1996, member of the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists church of Sarny, Rivne region.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») is scheduled for March 12, 2025. The case will be heard by the Zarechny District Court (Judge Nadezhda Zeikan).
Ruslan Volodymyrovych Merkulov, born in 1975 (date of birth — December 10, 1975), is a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church (MSCU ECB) in the city of Poltava (14-d Shylivska Street). He was baptized in 2008.
In the past, he served in the military, but after coming to faith, he left the service.
On 22 July 2025, he was summoned by a draft notice to the Poltava United Municipal Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.
He did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty but submitted a request to substitute military service with alternative (non-military) service, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. These arguments were not taken into consideration, as Ukrainian legislation does not provide a procedure for alternative service during martial law.
Serhii Mykhailovych Miinov, 48, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 25 February 2026, the Peresypskyi District Court in Odesa ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Izmail Detention Centre.
Artur Leonidovych Miroshkin, 30, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 5 May 2026, a court in the Lviv region extended his pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Believer MISHCHENKO ANDRII, Christian (Andrushivka, Zhytomyr region)
Andrii Ivanovych Mishchenko, born on 15 July 1981, is a Christian who does not belong to a particular religious congregation.
On 5 September 2025, the Andrushivka District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. He did not appeal.
He was taken into custody on 21 October 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 and listed 21 October 2028 as his projected release date.
Mykola Olehovych Mysnyk, born on 24 August 1988, is an ICC ECB member from Kharkiv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer NABRAKLO YEVHENII, Pentecostal, Grace Church (Pokrovsk, Donetsk region / Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk region)
Yevhenii Mykhailovych Nabraklo was born on 10 January 1985 in Pokrovsk. He had been a believer for more than ten years and attended Grace Pentecostal Church. He cared for his mother, who was blind and paralysed.
On 1 December 2025, masked military recruitment officials detained him in Dnipro. He presented a letter from his church and refused to take up arms on religious grounds. Officials sent him to the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia and later to a training unit in the Rivne region.
He was hospitalized in late December without his family being notified. He died in hospital on 1 January 2026. His death certificate listed acute purulent bacterial meningitis as the cause of death.
Relatives said his body showed signs of severe weight loss and questioned whether he had received timely medical care. In August 2026, police told Forum 18 that they were conducting a pretrial investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Dmytro Vasylovych Nazarchuk, born in 1997, is an ICC ECB member from Kivertsi. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Pavlo Vasylovych Nazarchuk, born on 13 June 1995, is an ICC ECB member from Kivertsi. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Rustam Emomovych Nazarov is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 26 August 2025, the Orativ District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Vinnytsia Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 10 November 2025.
Forum 18 did not identify the prison or give a projected release date.
Believer NECHAYUK SERHII, Jehovah’s Witness (Yarmolyntsi village, Khmelnytskyi region)
Serhii Nechayuk
Serhii Anatoliyovych Nechayuk, Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector to military service.
A criminal case was opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period»). On 10 December 2024, the Yarmolyntsi District Court of Khmelnytskyi region (Judge Nikolay Baskov) sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. Disagreeing with the decision, the defense filed an appeal. On 24 February 2025, the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal rejected his appeal.
On 3 March 2025, Nechayuk was taken to serve his sentence of imprisonment. He was held in a temporary detention facility in Khmelnytskyi, awaiting transfer to prison.
On 5 March 2025, he was imprisoned in Kolomyia Correctional Colony No. 41 in Ivano-Frankivsk Region. His cassation appeal is currently under review by the Supreme Court, and the hearing date has not yet been set.
As he prepared to begin his three-year sentence, Serhii said:
“Brothers and sisters are praying for me, and that gives me confidence that I’m not alone. Jehovah is with me.”
Vitalii Volodymyrovych Nedzelenko, 46, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
In September or October 2025, he was ordered into pretrial detention for at least two months. As of July 2026, Forum 18 reported that he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Yonafan Fedorovych Nikitiuk, born in 1996, is a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church (ICC ECB) in the city of Radyvyliv, Rivne region. He was baptized in 2016.
On 23 July 2025, he was detained in his hometown and taken to the territorial recruitment center. He was later transferred to the training center of military unit A4152 in the Rivne region, where he is currently being held.
In accordance with his religious beliefs, he declared his inability to bear arms. He did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty but requested that his military service be replaced with alternative (non-military) service, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Under martial law, however, his request was denied.
Ihor Nosenko, a Sabbath school teacher and head of the Family Ministries Department in the Verkhovyna congregation of the Bukovyna Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and a former operator at the Adventist TV channel Nadiya.
He was conscripted into the army on 3 December 2024, despite his conscientious objection to military service and his request to perform alternative non-military service. His conscription is currently being challenged in court.
He has been charged with disobedience for refusing to take up arms. He is currently held in custody at Ivano-Frankivsk Correctional Facility No. 12.
Andrii Pavlovych Olyseienko, 54, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 9 January 2026, the Nedryhailiv District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with two years of probation.
On 1 June 2026, the Sumy Court of Appeal overturned the suspension and ordered him to serve the three-year prison term. He began serving the sentence on 8 July 2026. Forum 18 listed 8 July 2029 as his projected release date and did not identify the prison.
Yosyp Oleksandrovych Oros, born on 18 October 1984, is an ICC ECB member. He also cared for his father, who has a Group I disability and needs ongoing assistance.
On 12 March 2025, Oros was detained and sent to a military unit. On arrival, he explained that his religious beliefs prevented him from taking up arms. He refused to put on a uniform or handle a weapon.
On 8 April 2025, he was taken before a State Bureau of Investigation investigator. Criminal proceedings were opened under Article 402 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which concerns disobedience. A hearing on pretrial restrictions was scheduled for 9 April 2025 at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Chernivtsi.
As of July 2026, the case was ongoing and Forum 18 reported that the next hearing had yet to be scheduled.
Believer PANASENKO NAZAR, ICC ECB (Sheptytskyi, Lviv region)
Nazar Panasenko
Nazar Vasylovych Panasenko, born on 16 November 1995, is an ICC ECB member from Sheptytskyi, formerly Chervonohrad. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Fedir Parshyn, Jehovah’s Witness who refuses military service on religious grounds.
According to an October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, on 7 July 2026 Parshyn refused to put on a military uniform at a processing centre in Sasynivka. A member of staff reportedly struck him several times on the head. Despite visible swelling, he was denied medical care and food.
Parshyn was later transferred to military unit A0932 in Lazirky. He again refused to wear a uniform or work under military command. The report says a member of the unit struck him three times in the face and five times on the back of the head. He was denied medical care and food and was barred from sleeping in a tent for two days.
The report did not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, p. 13.
Anatolii Olehovych Pasichnyk, born on 1 May 1972, is an ICC ECB member from Radyvyliv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Dmytro Oleksiiovych Pasichnyk is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 20 November 2025, the Dykanka District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended with one year of probation. Forum 18 did not report whether the judgment was appealed.
Serhii Borysovych Pavlik, born on 11 November 1972, is an ICC ECB member from Vinnytsia. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Kostiantyn Anatoliiovych Perevozenko, 42, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 7 April 2026, the Lychakiv District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Dmytro Vasylovych Petrov, 49, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 19 November 2025, the Staryi Sambir District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 3 February 2026.
Petrov was taken into custody on 11 March 2026. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Drohobych Penal Colony No. 40 and listed 11 March 2029 as his projected release date.
Yevhen Petrushynets, born on 26 October 1977, is an ICC ECB member from Chernihiv. The Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department listed him among members who had refused to take up arms and were being held in military units as of July 2026.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin.
Andrii Bohdanovych Popik, born in 1982, Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector to military service.
On May 17, 2024, he was summoned to the military recruitment office for mobilization. On the same day, he submitted an application for alternative civilian service based on his religious beliefs. The military recruitment office rejected his application.
Representatives of the military recruitment office offered Popik «service not related to carrying weapons, but rather a different kind, in particular, ‘work with documents,'» as noted in the subsequent court verdict. «However, he rejected such offers, as his religious beliefs are incompatible with any military service.»
On March 4, 2025, the Stryi District Court of Lviv region (Judge Nazar Yaniv) found Popik guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») and sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment.
The verdict will come into legal force only after the appeal is considered.
Vitalii Pavlovych Popov is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 25 September 2024, the Dzerzhynskyi District Court in Kharkiv convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Kharkiv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 10 March 2025.
Forum 18 did not specify when Popov began serving the sentence, where he was held, or when he was due for release.
Viacheslav Povsha, a resident of Kryvyi Rih, 42 years old.
On 28 March 2026, Viacheslav Povsha was detained in Kryvyi Rih. He had previously been a member of the church and then stopped attending meetings, but recently began attending services again and actively helped provide humanitarian aid.
After his detention, he was also taken to a distribution centre in the city of Dnipro, but he became very unwell on the way. According to available information, he was not admitted to the distribution centre and was taken back to Kryvyi Rih.
Viacheslav Povsha is an orphan. He is unmarried.
Believer POZNIAK OLEKSII, International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Odessa)
Oleksii Pozniak
Oleksii Vasylyovych Pozniak, born in 1978, believer from the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, conscientious objector to military service.
Church members insist that Poznyak never hid from the authorities. «He appeared at the military recruitment office as summoned and testified about his faith in God. He always stated that in accordance with his religious beliefs, he cannot undergo military training and take up arms. He was not evading and did not intend to evade his civil duty. He asked to replace military service with non-military service.» He always referred to his rights under Article 35 of the Constitution.
On December 3, 2024, the Kominternovsky District Court in Odessa (Judge Andrey Yakimov) found him guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») and sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment.
Poznyak filed an appeal to the Odessa Court of Appeal. The case has been assigned to a panel of three judges chaired by Oleg Kopitsa. The appeal hearing is scheduled for April 7, 2025. The sentence will only come into force after the appeal is considered.
Dmytro Anatoliiovych Prodan, 32, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 18 November 2025, the Yampil District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Vinnytsia Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 24 February 2026.
Prodan was taken into custody on 18 March 2026. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 in the Mykolaiv region and listed 19 March 2029 as his projected release date.
Dmytro Serhiiovych Prokhodovskyi is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged with disobedience under Article 402, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Sosnivskyi District Court in Cherkasy was hearing his case. As of 10 July 2026, the next hearing had yet to be scheduled.
Serhii Volodymyrovych Protasyev, born in 1977, has been a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church (ICC ECB) in the city of Dnipro (Myrne district) since 1993.
On 15 July 2025, following the expiration of a one-year exemption from military service, he was mobilized by the Shevchenkivskyi Territorial Recruitment Center in Dnipro. In 2024, he had been declared unfit for military service for one year. After undergoing another medical examination, his status was changed, and he was declared fit for service and immediately mobilized.
At present, Protasyev is located in Volyn region under the jurisdiction of military unit A1363. There is currently no contact with him. It is also important to note that Protasyev has a serious injury to his right hand — one finger is missing, and the joints of three other fingers are damaged. He has been officially recognized as permanently disabled.
In accordance with his religious beliefs, he declared his inability to bear arms. He did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty but requested that his military service be replaced with alternative (non-military) service, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. However, under martial law, his request was not granted.
Oleksandr Andriiovych Prun is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service. He was prosecuted under Article 402, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code in connection with his refusal to serve.
On 9 March 2026, the Kolomyia City District Court sentenced him to one year of military service restrictions, including a ban on promotion and a 10 per cent deduction from his military pay.
Andrii Hennadiiovych Pryimak, born in 1984, is an ICC ECB member from the Sumy region. He refused armed military service on religious grounds and requested alternative civilian service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Zarichnyi District Court in Sumy was hearing the case. The ICC ECB bulletin reported that a hearing was postponed while Pryimak was receiving treatment in a hospital neurosurgery department. Forum 18 listed 8 October 2026 as a scheduled hearing date.
Petro Valerianovych Prysiazhniuk, born on 9 November 1998, is an ICC ECB member from Zviahel. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Anatolii Volodymyrovych Rashevskyi, born in 1980, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 29 June 2026, the Kozelets District Court convicted him under Articles 402 and 409, Part 4 of each article, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years and one month in prison.
Rashevskyi had been in custody since 28 October 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Novhorod-Siverskyi Penitentiary Institution No. 31 and that his appeal was pending before the Chernihiv Court of Appeal. It listed 28 November 2030 as his projected release date.
Oleksandr Mykhailovych Redkostin, born in 1973, is an ICC ECB member from Kapitanivka. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Bohdan Denysovych Rohov, 25, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 8 May 2026, the Vynohradiv District Court ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Zakarpattia Penitentiary Institution No. 9.
Oleksii Volodymyrovych Rudov, 40, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. Criminal proceedings were opened against him under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
On 22 October 2025, the Rivne City Court ordered him into pretrial detention. The Kostopil District Court subsequently extended his detention. As of July 2026, he was held at Rivne Detention Centre.
Matvii Viktorovych Sapozhnikov, born on 18 October 1995, is an ICC ECB member from Rykhta. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Roman Oleksandrovych Sarhosh, 34, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were also imprisoned for their faith.
Sarhosh was charged under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. On 15 May 2026, the Lychakiv District Court in Lviv ordered him into pretrial detention.
The Yavoriv District Court was hearing his case. As of July 2026, he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») is scheduled for March 20, 2025. The case will be heard by the Vasylkiv District Court (Judge Oleg Popovich).
Believer SEMCHUK SERHII, Baptist (Brody village, Lviv region)
Serhii Semchuk
Serhii Mykhailovych Semchuk, born in 1992, member of the Baptist church in Brody village, Lviv region.
After the start of the full-scale aggression, he was mobilized to participate in combat operations and made an oral request for alternative civilian service. However, the draft commission rejected this request and mobilized him in December 2022. He reported that he was ready to serve in the army, but without weapons, in accordance with his Christian faith. The draft commission assured him that this was possible. He was then sent to a military unit.
In December 2023, the commander ordered Semchuk and other soldiers to arm themselves with automatic rifles. Semchuk refused, telling the commander that he could not take up arms as it contradicted his faith. Semchuk was detained and held in custody from January 12 to 15, 2024, after which he was released on bail pending trial.
On May 8, 2024, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Kharkiv (Judge Tatyana Shtikh) found Semchuk guilty under part 4 of Article 402 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Disobedience committed under martial law or in a combat situation»). The verdict notes that Semchuk «decided to take a criminal path and, acting deliberately, under martial law, commit disobedience, that is, an open refusal to carry out a commander’s order.» The believer was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment.
During the court hearing, Semchuk explained that he has been a church member since 2012 and has a corresponding certificate from the pastor of the Baptist church in Brody village. «The teaching of this church prohibits the use of weapons against people, so when preparing for mobilization, he informed the military commissioner about this,» the verdict states.
«Sergey Semchuk fully explained in court his views on why he cannot take up arms,» his lawyer Ruslan Pronin said in an interview with Forum 18on February 18, 2025. «He is ready to carry out any orders except those related to weapons.»
Semchuk’s punishment for refusing to take up arms as part of military service (which he notified the authorities about during mobilization) contradicts court decisions in cases of those who were convicted for refusing mobilization on grounds of conscience.
With the help of lawyer Pronin, Semchuk appealed the verdict and sentence to the Kharkiv Court of Appeal. However, on September 30, 2024, a panel of judges chaired by Nikolay Savenko upheld the verdict, after which the sentence came into legal force.
On January 29, 2025, authorities took Semchuk from his civilian workplace to begin serving his sentence. He is currently in prison in Lviv.
Semchuk filed another appeal to the Supreme Court in Kyiv. On January 20, 2025, the Supreme Court returned the case to lawyer Pronin, citing the absence of necessary documents. Pronin resubmitted the appeal on February 12. On February 21, 2025, a panel of judges of the Supreme Court chaired by Irina Grigorieva refused to accept the cassation appeal.
Semchuk’s address in prison: 79007, Lviv region Lviv 20 Gorodotskaya St. Pervomaiskoe Penitentiary Institution No. 19 Ukraine
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Serbul, 45, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 29 October 2024, the Ripky District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Chernihiv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 22 January 2025.
Serbul was taken into custody on 24 March 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Chernihiv Detention Centre and listed 24 March 2028 as his projected release date.
Vadym Volodymyrovych Shafarenko, born in 1977, is an ICC ECB member from the Zhytomyr region. He refused mobilization on religious grounds and requested alternative civilian service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Malyn District Court in the Zhytomyr region is hearing case No. 283/2602/25.
As of 28 October 2026, the case was still pending. The court listing showed 21 December 2026 as the next hearing date. The outcome of the hearing previously scheduled for 20 October was unavailable.
Oleh Oleksandrovych Shcherbyna, born on 13 July 1993, is an ICC ECB member from Kozatske. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Mark Yuriiovych Shekhurin, born on 12 July 1996, is an ICC ECB member from Pokrovsk. He was sent to a military unit after refusing armed service on religious grounds.
As of July 2026, he was listed as missing. The available report did not specify where or under what circumstances he disappeared.
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a Quaker, a lawyer, the executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 19 March 2026, he was detained on a street in Kyiv and taken to a military recruitment office. Quakers in Britain reported that he was beaten, pepper-sprayed, and subjected to degrading treatment during his detention. The organization confirmed his release in an update on 23 March 2026.
Forum 18 reviewed decisions showing that a Kyiv military recruitment office fined Sheliazhenko on 11 May and again on 4 July 2026 under Article 210-1, Part 3, of Ukraine’s Code of Administrative Offences. Sheliazhenko attributed the repeated fines to his conscientious refusal of military service.
Petro Yaroslavovych Shkraba, born on 7 June 1974, is an ICC ECB member from Kamianka-Buzka. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Andrii Shkuropat is an ICC ECB member from Zelenodolsk.
He was detained on 22 August 2026. After a military medical examination, he was sent to a training centre and then to a military unit in the Volyn region.
He refused to take the military oath or take up arms on religious grounds. According to the ICC ECB, his refusal was filmed, and he was threatened with criminal prosecution.
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Shnyra, 34, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 28 May 2025, the Starokostiantyniv District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 18 November 2025.
Shnyra was taken into custody on 18 December 2025. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Kolomyia Penal Colony No. 41 and listed 19 December 2028 as his projected release date.
Oleh Heorhiiovych Shpilovii is a Seventh-day Adventist and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 16 April 2026, the Oleksandriia City District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and imposed a suspended sentence. Forum 18 lists a two-year probation period. It did not report whether the judgment was appealed.
Andrii Shulha, born in 1975, is a member of the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church (ICC ECB) in the town of Merefa, Kharkiv region. He was baptized in 2023.
On 15 July 2025, he was mobilized. Previously, Andrii had been repeatedly summoned to the territorial recruitment center, where he openly testified to his faith in God. On 27 June 2024, he had already been sent to a military unit, but was released shortly thereafter.
He is currently located in the Volyn region, assigned to military unit A1363. There is currently no contact with him. Another fellow believer, Serhii Protasiev, is also serving in the same unit.
In accordance with his religious beliefs, he declared his inability to bear arms. He did not refuse to fulfill his civic duty but requested to substitute military service with alternative (non-military) service, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. However, under martial law, his request was not granted.
Andrii Yevhenovych Shumynskyi, born in 1991, a member of the ICCECB (International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists) church in Kvasilov, Rivne region.
The trial under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by calling up reservists in a special period») was scheduled for February 3, 2025. The next session in the Zdolbuniv District Court (Judge Oleg Kushnir) took place on February 12, 2025.
Andrii Skliar, a Seventh-day Adventist and conscientious objector.
He was forcibly mobilized in November 2024 and subjected to torture at a Territorial Recruitment Center. He was pulled by the nose, had his pinky finger twisted, and was choked until he nearly lost consciousness.
He currently remains deprived of freedom of movement at the Desna military training center, despite multiple appeals from the Kyiv Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church requesting his release. He continues to refuse to bear arms, take the military oath, wear a uniform, or accept military pay, despite pressure and ongoing demands to comply with military discipline.
Dmytro Skydan is a member of an ICC ECB congregation in Kyiv.
He was detained on his way to a church meeting and forcibly sent to a military unit. According to the Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, he refused to take the military oath or take up arms on religious grounds. Church representatives reported that personnel at the unit were pressuring him to abandon his refusal.
Mykyta Oleksandrovych Soldatkin, born in 1988, is an ICC ECB member from Chernihiv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Rev. SOLONETS OLEKSANDR, Restoration of Temple Church (Kherson)
Rev. Oleksandr Solonets
Oleksandr Solonets, pastor of the Restoration of Temple Church in Kherson, completed alternative non-military service between 2016 and 2019. He remained in occupied Kherson during the war.
On 20 January 2025, he was forcibly mobilised at a checkpoint in Chernivtsi Region by staff of the Dnistrovskyi District Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center while accompanying a group of teenagers to a rehabilitation program.
He is currently forcibly held in a military unit and is challenging the mobilisation in court. His religious community recorded a video appeal calling for his release, but Solonets remains in military detention. His commanders have rejected all requests and continue to ignore his right to conscientious objection to military service.
Andrii Vasylovych Soloshenko, born in 1993, is an ICC ECB member from Lebedyn. He refused mobilization on religious grounds and requested alternative civilian service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The Lebedyn District Court was hearing his case as of July 2026. Forum 18 listed 30 July 2026 as the scheduled date of the next hearing.
Believer STADNYTSKYI SERHII, Evangelical believer (Korchin village, Lviv region)
Serhii Stadnytskyi, born in 1990, has been a member of an Evangelical church (pastor Stepan Feshchenko) in the village of Korchin, Lviv region, since 2018. He was baptized in 2023.
On August 17, 2023, Stadnytskyi underwent a medical examination and received an order from the military recruitment office to arrive the next morning for delivery to a military unit. He did not come.
«I don’t want to kill people,» Stadnytskyi toldForum 18. He also noted that he would be willing to perform alternative civilian service.
On December 6, 2023, a criminal case was opened against Stadnytskyi. On December 28, 2023, Stadnytskyi’s house was searched. On January 2, 2024, the Chervonohrad district prosecutor’s office transferred the criminal case to court.
In court, two employees of the military recruitment office stated that Stadnytskyi had not submitted an application for alternative service. «I wanted to submit a written application for alternative service, but they wouldn’t even listen when I mentioned it verbally,» Stadnytskyi told Forum 18. «Instead, they tried to intimidate me and said they would send me to the worst unit.»
Stadnytskyi feared that if he had submitted a written application for alternative civilian service, the military recruitment office employees might have immediately taken him to a military unit.
Pastor Feshchenko spoke in Stadnytskyi’s defense at the trial: «We support Serhii in his decision and his rights provided by Article 35 of our Constitution,» he told Forum 18 from Korchin on April 18. «We are not against helping our country, but in accordance with our beliefs, anywhere except the army.» He noted that Stadnytskyi had expressed willingness to perform alternative civilian service.
Pastor Mikityshyn from the Agape church in Lviv, which Stadnytskyi occasionally attended, also supported the believer. «Our church position is that everyone should help [during wartime], but in accordance with their faith,» he told Forum 18 from Lviv on April 17, 2024. He noted that some church members fought in the army, while others sought alternative civilian service: «But there is neither opportunity nor law for this.»
Believer STAROVOIT SERHII, Jehovah’s Witness (Popelnya village, Zhytomyr region)
Serhii Vasylyovych Starovoit, a Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector to military service.
On December 18, 2024, the Popelnya District Court of Zhytomyr region (Judge Nikolai Rudnik) found him guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by calling up reservists in a special period») and sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. The judge also ordered him to pay 4,534.68 hryvnias (about a 10-day average local wage) to cover the costs of «forensic handwriting examination.»
In his verdict, the judge stated that «no religious beliefs can be a reason for a citizen of Ukraine, deemed fit for military service, to evade mobilization in order to fulfill his constitutional duty to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state from military aggression by a foreign state.»
Judge Rudnik insisted that «Starovoit has no factual and legal grounds for refusing military service based on his beliefs, and the legal assessment of his actions as evasion of conscription for mobilization does not contradict the requirements of part 4 of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.» The judge claimed that «Starovoit’s actions to evade military service for religious reasons are criminal, and therefore his criminal prosecution for evading conscription is not an interference with his freedom to profess his religion, guarantees of which are provided by paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.»
Starovoit filed an appeal to the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal. The case was transferred to a panel of three judges chaired by Sergey Zavyazun. The appeal hearing is scheduled for April 29, 2025. The sentence will only come into force after the appeal is considered.
Vadym Valentynovych Stasiuk, born on 19 October 1999, is a Seventh-day Adventist. Forum 18 reports that the judgment incorrectly identifies him as a Baptist.
On 9 June 2026, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Dnipro convicted him under Article 408, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years in prison.
Stasiuk had been in custody since 19 February 2026. Forum 18 did not identify the prison or give a projected release date.
Vitalii Mykolaiovych Stepaniuk is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 8 December 2025, the Liuboml District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to two years in prison. On 23 April 2026, the Volyn Court of Appeal replaced the prison term with one year of restriction of liberty. His defence appealed to Ukraine’s Supreme Court.
Jehovah’s Witnesses reported that Stepaniuk began serving the one-year sentence on 15 June 2026.
Oleksii Oleksandrovych Sushko is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was charged under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. On 16 June 2026, a court in the Lviv region ordered him into pretrial detention until at least 14 August and denied bail.
The Russian monitoring page records a court entry dated 15 October 2026 in the mobilization case, No. 466/569/25, at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Lviv. It also records a second case at the same court, No. 466/5662/26, opened in September 2026 on a charge of unauthorized absence from a military unit or place of service. That case was pending in early October.
Andrii Vasylovych Sytarchuk, born on 8 March 1991, is an ICC ECB member from Kyiv. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Volodymyr Vasylovych Taratuta, born on 13 January 1996, is an ICC ECB member from Poltava. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer TATAROV SERHII, Jehovah’s Witness (Kyiv)
Serhii Oleksandrovych Tatarov, a Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector to military service. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by calling up reservists in a special period»).
On January 12, 2025, the Boryspil Inter-district Court of Kyiv region (Judge Sergey Voznyuk) acquitted him, establishing «the absence of corpus delicti» in his refusal to serve.
The Boryspil Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal against the acquittal to the Kyiv Regional Court of Appeal. The hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2025. The verdict will enter into legal force only after the appeal is considered.
Liubomyr Vasylovych Tomchuk, 47, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 28 May 2026, a court in the Lviv region ordered him into pretrial detention. As of July 2026, he was held at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19.
Ivan Ivanovych Tsebak is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 26 January 2026, the Stryi City District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. He appealed to the Lviv Court of Appeal. His appeal was pending as of 10 July 2026.
Valerii Tsurkan, 34 years old, a member of the ICC ECB church in the village of Sursko-Lytovske, Dnipropetrovsk region.
On 11 November 2025, Valerii Tsurkan was detained by officers of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre. After his detention, he was sent to military unit A4862 — the 425th Separate Assault Battalion “Skelia”.
According to available information, he refused to take up arms and became a medical worker, remaining faithful to his religious beliefs.
On 18 February 2026, Valerii Tsurkan went missing near the settlement of Ternove in Synelnykove district, Dnipropetrovsk region. His disappearance became known on 23 February 2026. The group he was with was sent on a mission, after which Valerii did not return.
At present, it is unknown whether he was killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. His relatives filed a missing person report; the report was accepted and a case was opened.
Bohdan Illich Turushev, 30, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 3 June 2026, a court in the Zakarpattia region ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Zakarpattia Penitentiary Institution No. 9.
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Ukhal, born in 1992, an Orthodox believer.
He was stopped by TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) employees on January 19, 2023, on his way to work. He was taken to a military medical commission, which found him fit for mobilization. At the Tyachev district military recruitment office in the Transcarpathian region, he was issued a mobilization summons, which he refused. He submitted a written application for alternative civilian service on conscientious grounds, but the military recruitment office refused him.
On January 20, 2023, priest Ioann Dovbnich from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. George in the village of Kaliny presented to the military recruitment office confirmation that Ukhal is a regular parishioner.
On October 24, 2023, Judge Nikolai Branich of the Tyachev District Court found Ukhal guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the call-up of reservists in a special period»), the verdict states: «The court established that the defendant’s explanation about refusing mobilization due to religious beliefs does not refute his guilt in committing the crime provided for in Article 336 of the Criminal Code.» The verdict also claims that Ukhal’s petition to undergo alternative civilian service «is regarded by the court as his chosen method of defense and was submitted by him to avoid criminal liability or reduce such liability.»
The judge sentenced Ukhal to four years of imprisonment with a three-year suspension.
The Tyachev District Prosecutor’s Office appealed this verdict. The Transcarpathian Court of Appeal accepted the prosecutor’s appeal on November 30, 2023. Later, the court scheduled an appeal hearing for the morning of June 5, 2024, according to court records. The panel of three judges will be headed by Judge Ivan Feer. The appeal hearing was postponed to April 7, 2025.
The verdict will enter into legal force only after the appeal is considered.
Oleksandr Dmytrovych Vasianovych, born on 27 June 1970, is an ICC ECB member from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Viktor Andriiovych Vasylivetskyi, born on 22 March 1968, is an ICC ECB member from Kyslyn. He refused to take up arms on religious grounds when mobilized. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit and continued to refuse to take up arms.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer VOLKOV OLEH, Buddhist (Uman, Cherkasy region)
Oleh Olehovych Volkov is a Buddhist and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was convicted under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code in March 2023. A second case was later brought under the same article. On 12 March 2025, the Uman City District Court sentenced him to three years in prison. With the unserved portion of the earlier sentence added, his total prison term was three years and six months.
As of July 2026, he was serving his sentence at Penitentiary Institution No. 83 in the Mykolaiv region.
Volodymyr Volkov is a Jehovah’s Witness who refuses military service on religious grounds.
According to an October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses, on 27 April 2026 recruitment officials and Oleksandr Kravchenko, deputy head of the Netishyn police station, tried to force Volkov into a vehicle in Slavuta. Tear gas was used, and Volkov was pushed to the pavement, leaving abrasions on his face, elbows, and knees.
The report alleges that Kravchenko struck Volkov in the head and kidney area after he was handcuffed, then continued hitting him inside the vehicle while making hostile remarks about his faith. At the Slavuta recruitment office, Volkov reportedly received about 20 blows to the head, face, and ribs. When he explained his conscientious refusal, personnel told him that they had made other believers change their minds and would do the same to him.
Volkov was later at military unit A4152 near Mala Liubasha in the Rivne region. A military doctor found suspected rib bruising or fractures. The report says Volkov was denied adequate medical care and does not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, pp. 13–14.
Believer VOLOSHENIUK VASYL, Baptist (Mariupol)
Vasyl Volosheniuk, a believer and member of a church choir, was baptized in 2012 in the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church “Bethany,” whose doctrine forbids the use of weapons. After the start of the Russian invasion, he relocated from Mariupol to the village of Budiatychi in Volyn Region.
On 29 January 2024, he was forcibly taken by servicemen of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) to a military unit.
He was promised non-combat service—without weapons, military uniform, or taking the oath—and he agreed. However, after mobilisation, the commander ordered him to take up arms. He refused, after which he was charged with disobedience. In May 2024, he was detained but soon released on bail, under the condition that he return to the military unit and continue service.
He returned home and unsuccessfully attempted to leave Ukraine.
In June 2024, he was detained again, deprived of liberty, and placed in Lviv Correctional Facility No. 19, where he was additionally charged with desertion.
On 22 November 2024, the Sheptytskyi City Court of Lviv Region found him not guilty of desertion but guilty of disobedience, and sentenced him to 5 years of imprisonment. On 28 February 2025, the Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, citing the position of the Supreme Court that no religious beliefs can justify refusal to comply with military service. He has filed a cassation appeal.
Artem Serhiiovych Voroniuk, 28, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service. He was under investigation for an alleged military offence.
On 23 May 2026, a court in the Odesa region ordered him into pretrial detention. Forum 18 reported that he was held at Izmail Detention Centre.
Andrii Vyshnevetskyi, born in 1989, is a Christian. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he lived with his wife and daughter in Kherson.
Territorial Recruitment Center employees approached him on a street in Odessa and ordered him to report to the city’s Suvorovsky territorial military commissariat on September 14, 2022. There, he requested alternative civilian service due to his conscientious objection, but officials rejected his request and mobilized him into the army.
After training Vyshnevetskyi as a military driver, in November 2022, the command sent him to the front line in eastern Donetsk region. Later, he was transferred to the Mykolaiv region and assigned to work in the kitchen. Commanders have so far ignored his request for transfer to alternative civilian service.
Vyshnevetskyi explained his refusal of military service in a conversation with the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement: «I don’t understand church terminology, I simply believe. I am a Christian and a pacifist, I believe in God and pray to God. I read the Bible, downloaded it to my smartphone. Every day I pray for world peace… I cannot kill people due to the insurmountable dictates of conscience and fear of God, because the Bible commandment states: ‘Thou shalt not kill!’ and it also says that one should fear God and keep the commandments. How can one kill a person, how to live with that, I cannot… I want to perform alternative service, I don’t want to serve in the army. I am against war, against violence, against killing. I don’t want to hold weapons in my hands.» He also stated that he was ready to perform alternative service, for example, with the Red Cross.
Vyshnevetskyi filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, claiming that the president’s failure to establish a procedure for discharge from military service on conscientious grounds is illegal. Vyshnevetskyi asks the Supreme Court to instruct the President to establish such a procedure, allowing citizens to exercise their right to refuse military service on conscientious grounds in accordance with Article 35 («Freedom of beliefs and religion») of the Constitution, Article 18 («Freedom of thought, conscience and religion») of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 9 («Freedom of thought, conscience and religion») of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Supreme Court allowed the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement to join Vyshnevetskyi’s case as a third party on the plaintiff’s side. The first hearing of a five-judge panel chaired by Olena Hubskaya took place on May 22, 2023. On February 22, 2024, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court rejected Vyshnevetskyi’s lawsuit, ruling that presidential actions within the powers exercised by the executive branch are not subject to judicial oversight.
Vyshnevetskyi still works in the military kitchen. «Of course, I’m not happy to be here,» he told Forum 18.
Vadym Vasylovych Yatsiuk, born on 29 September 1978, is an ICC ECB member from Lutsk. As of July 2026, he was being held in a military unit after refusing to take up arms on religious grounds.
Source: Ukrainian ICC ECB Advocacy Department, July 2026 bulletin, and Forum 18, 10 July 2026.
Believer YATSYSHYN PETRO, Jehovah’s Witness
Petro Vasylovych Yatsyshyn is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
He was convicted under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced to imprisonment. An appellate court upheld the judgment. Forum 18 did not specify the length of the sentence, the dates or names of the courts involved, or the place of detention.
Mykhailo Yosypovych Yavorskyi, born in 1983, a Christian from Ivano-Frankivsk.
On April 6, 2023, Yavorskyi was sentenced by the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as refusal of conscription for military service during the call-up of reservists in a special period») to one year of imprisonment.
On April 20, 2023, Yavorskyi again requested in writing to perform alternative civilian service. On April 29, 2023, the military recruitment office rejected this request.
On May 8, 2023, Yavorskyi filed an appeal against his sentence. The prosecutor filed a counter-complaint, demanding an increase in the prison term from one year to three years.
On October 2, 2023, a panel of three judges of the Ivano-Frankivsk Court of Appeal, chaired by Judge Volodymyr Povzlo, replaced one year of imprisonment with three years of imprisonment with a one-year suspension.
The prosecutor indicated that the city court considered as a mitigating circumstance for Yavorskyi «the presence and upbringing of two minor children by the accused, the health condition of the accused, as well as the long-standing deep religious faith of the accused.» The prosecutor himself rejected these arguments, stating that he «did not come to the conclusion that these circumstances significantly reduce social danger.»
Yavorskyi initially stated that he would not further appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court. «I won’t gain anything, except that they might actually humiliate me,» he toldForum 18. «The problem is that we don’t have a law on alternative service during wartime, there’s no way to justify oneself.»
However, he did file a cassation appeal, which was considered by the Supreme Court in Kyiv on May 2, 2024. The First Judicial Chamber of the Cassation Criminal Court issued a decision in which it left Yavorskyi’s complaint without satisfaction.
The court considered that although «neither Article 18 of the Covenant [on Civil and Political Rights] nor Article 9 of the Convention [for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] explicitly provides for a person’s right to refuse to perform military duty on grounds of conscience, including for reasons of religious beliefs, and does not regulate the procedure for its implementation,» nevertheless «the European Court of Human Rights in its practice has formed guidelines according to which refusal of military service is a belief that reaches a sufficient degree of strength, seriousness, consistency, and importance to be covered by the guarantees established by Article 9 of the ECHR, in cases where such refusal is motivated by a serious and insurmountable conflict between the duty to serve in the army and a person’s conscience or his sincere and deep, religious or other beliefs.» Therefore, «when refusing to serve in the armed forces on grounds of conscience, a person must demonstrate the presence of corresponding deep, sincere, and consistent religious beliefs with certain data, besides their own words and statements of close persons (information about public statements in the past of such a worldview position, participation in social movements of pacifist orientation, etc.).»
In Yavorskyi’s case, the court found that he could not prove his beliefs, and therefore «factual and legal grounds for conscientious objection to military service were not proven, and the legal assessment of his actions as evasion of conscription for mobilization does not contradict the requirements of part 4 of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 9 of the ECHR.»
Believer YEDYNAK VADYM, International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Zhytomyr)
Vadym Mykhailovych Yedynak, born in 1998, is a member of the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists church in Zhytomyr.
A court hearing under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Evasion of conscription for military service during mobilization, in a special period, for military service by conscription of reservists in a special period») was scheduled at the Lyubar District Court (Judge Valery Valchuk) for February 6, 2025. The next hearing will take place on March 20, 2025.
Maksym Olehovych Yukhymchuk, born in 1988, is an ICC ECB member from Chuhuiv. He was sent to a military unit after refusing armed service on religious grounds.
As of July 2026, he was listed as missing. The available report did not give the date or circumstances of his disappearance.
Volodymyr Zahaiskyi is a member of a Baptist church in Sahunivka.
He was detained on his way to work in March 2025. Church representatives asked the authorities to take account of his religious beliefs, which prevent him from taking up arms.
On 2 August 2026, military recruitment officials detained him again. Shortly before his 57th birthday, a military medical commission declared him fit for service despite existing health problems. The available report did not establish his whereabouts after the second detention.
Believer ZELINSKYI DMYTRO, Seventh-day Adventist Church (Kremenets, Ternopil region)
Dmytro Zelinskyi
Dmytro Bronislavovych Zelinskyi, born in 1978, is a Seventh-day Adventist believer. He was baptized in 2002 in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, and left his job in the police because he considered it incompatible with his new faith.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zelinskyi fled from Luhansk region in February 2022 and was registered as an internally displaced person in Kremenets, Ternopil region, in July 2022. Since spring 2022, he attended Seventh-day Adventist worship services in Kremenets, which was confirmed by Pastor Bohdan Osadchuk. Additionally, Zelinskyi worked as a volunteer at the charity organization «Dawn of Hope,» which works with children with disabilities.
On July 21, 2022, a military medical commission declared Zelinskyi fit for military service. On September 9, 2022, the Kremenets district military commissariat ordered him to report for military service two days later. Zelinskyi verbally stated to officials that he could not serve in the armed forces due to conscientious objection.
Stanislav Nosov, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine, who has known Zelinskyi since 2016, noted that Zelinskyi explained in writing that as a Seventh-day Adventist he could not serve in the army only at the third meeting with the military commissariat, previously limiting himself to verbal statements. The military commissariat and prosecutor’s office later claimed that Zelinskyi had not filed petitions either for exemption from mobilization on grounds of conscience or for assignment to alternative civilian service.
Zelinskyi did not report for mobilization as ordered on September 11, 2022, after which the Prosecutor’s Office opened a case against him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code («Refusal of conscription for military service during mobilization or in a special period, as well as for military service during the call-up period of reservists in a special period»). In March 2023, Zelinskyi renewed his request—this time in writing—to the Kremenets district military administration for exemption from mobilization due to conscientious objection or for assignment to alternative civilian service. This petition was denied «due to the fact that such a replacement is not provided for by current legislation.»
On June 5, 2023, Judge Tetyana Klim of the Kremenets District Court acquitted Zelinskyi, citing Article 35 of the Constitution, which includes the provision: «If the performance of military duty contradicts a citizen’s religious beliefs, the fulfillment of this duty is replaced by alternative (non-military) service.» Judge Klim also noted that the presidential decree of November 2018, establishing martial law provisions, does not include restrictions on the rights set forth in Article 35, and that various decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg have defined the right to refuse military service on grounds of conscience.
Prosecutor Oleksandr Yanyuk appealed the acquittal to the Ternopil Court of Appeal. On August 28, 2023, a panel of three judges of the Ternopil Court of Appeal, chaired by Iryna Lekan, overturned the acquittal and granted the request of prosecutor Roman Harmatyuk, sentencing Zelinskyi to three years in prison with immediate effect.
In November 2023, Zelinskyi began serving a three-year sentence for refusing mobilization based on his beliefs and was expected to arrive at a prison in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region. He filed a complaint against the sentence with the Supreme Court of Ukraine in November 2023 and planned to seek protection of his rights at the European Court of Human Rights.
On December 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ukraine accepted Zelinskyi’s complaint. On January 8, 2024, a Supreme Court judge ordered the head of Colony No. 41 in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region, to ensure his transfer to the Kyiv pre-trial detention center by the start of the hearing. According to Iryna Zhukova, a believer from the same church as Zelinskyi, in early 2024 he was erroneously transported for a month and a half to Kyiv and back.
On June 13, 2024, a hearing on Zelinskyi’s appeal was held in the Supreme Court, and the Chamber of the Cassation Criminal Court made a decision regarding the sentence of the believer who refused military service. In this decision, Zelinskyi’s guilt of committing a crime under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was confirmed. According to the court, «Neither the provisions of the [International] Covenant [on Civil and Political Rights], nor the provisions of the [European] Convention [for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] directly provide for a person’s right to refuse to perform military duty on grounds of conscience, including on the grounds of religious beliefs, and do not regulate the procedure for its implementation,» and also that «no religious beliefs can be the basis for a Ukrainian citizen, recognized as fit for military service, to evade mobilization for the purpose of fulfilling their constitutional duty to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state from military aggression by a foreign country.» Zelinskyi’s complaint against the sentence was not satisfied.
Address: Dmytro Zelinskyi Kolomyia Correctional Colony No. 41 78250, Ivano-Frankivsk region Kolomyia district Village Tovmachyk Privokzalna Street, building 30 Ukraine
Zynovii Mykolaiovych Zhabiak, 27, is a Jehovah’s Witness and a conscientious objector to military service.
On 3 December 2025, the Zhydachiv District Court convicted him under Article 336 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 25 February 2026. Ukraine’s Supreme Court dismissed his further appeal on 28 May 2026.
Zhabiak was taken into custody on 27 March 2026. Forum 18 reported that he was serving his sentence at Drohobych Penal Colony No. 40 and listed 28 March 2029 as his projected release date.
Andrii Zhakun, 26, is an ICC ECB member from Zaluzhzhia.
On 21 August 2026, he was detained, taken to a military recruitment office, and then sent to a military unit in the Rivne region. The ICC ECB listed him among members forcibly mobilized despite their religious objections. The available report gave no further details about his situation.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is a Jehovah’s Witness. An October 2026 report by Jehovah’s Witnesses describes an assault on him by military recruitment officials.
According to the report, on 22 June 2026, three officials from the Rivne military recruitment office beat Zinchenko for about five minutes in Zoria while trying to force him into a vehicle. They allegedly struck his head and torso, repeatedly used pepper spray, and choked him until he lost consciousness. He was reportedly unable to see for about three hours after being sprayed.
At the recruitment office, he was denied medical care despite severe swelling of one ear, pain in his chest, ribs, and kidney area, and difficulty swallowing. Two weeks later, he still reportedly had a fever, blood in his urine, pain when breathing, and impaired hearing. He was denied an X-ray and adequate treatment.
The report also identifies military unit A4152 near Mala Liubasha as one of the locations connected with the case. It did not establish his subsequent whereabouts or status.
Source: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukraine: Assaults, Prosecution, and Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors, October 2026, p. 13.
Ivan Fedorovych Zorivchak, born on 21 June 1969, is a Baptist and a conscientious objector to military service.
Criminal proceedings were opened against him under Article 407, Part 5, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. On 6 March 2026, the Uzhhorod City District Court ordered him into pretrial detention. He was released on bail on 10 March 2026, and the investigation continued.
