Ukraine: Conscientious Objectors to Military Service
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 13 April 2025, the list includes 36 people (see below). This is far from a complete list of those facing persecution.
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.
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 Andriy 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.
Believer ALEKSEYENKO VITALIY, 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 Andriy 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.
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.
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.
Believer CHOVGAN KONSTANTIN, 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 Alexander 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.
Believer HALAHAN PAVLO, Seventh-day Adventist Church (Uzhgorod)
Pavlo Galagan
Pavlo Serhiyovych Galagan, born in 1974, is a Seventh-day Adventist.
On January 10, 2024, military commissariat employees detained him in the city of Uzhgorod, Zakarpattia region, and refused to accept his written application for alternative civilian service.
After Galagan 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 Galagan to Uzhgorod 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,» Galagan complained, «and without explaining to us why the statements we signed about returning to the military commissariat were necessary.»
Upon returning to Uzhgorod, Galagan 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 Galagan 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 Oleg Yanchinsky, head of the Uzhgorod District Police, Galagan added that during that day he «was subjected to psychological and moral pressure from employees of the Uzhgorod 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 Alexander. Blows were inflicted on my body and head, beating with hands, fists, and feet.»
Officials pressured Galagan 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, Galagan 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.»
Believer HUMENIUK VITALIY, International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Kyiv)
Vitaliy Gumeniuk, 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 Vitaly 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.» Gumenyuk was then released.
Serhiy 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
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.
Oleksiy 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.
Andriy 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 February 3, 2025, Khomenko was delivered 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 hearing 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.
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.
Believer KUROCHKIN ALEXANDER, 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.
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).
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).
Believer NECHAIUK SERHIY, Jehovah’s Witness (Yarmolyntsi village, Khmelnytskyi region)
Serhiy Anatoliyovych Nechaiuk, 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 December 10, 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 February 24, 2025, the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal rejected his appeal.
On March 3, 2025, Nechayuk was taken to serve his sentence of imprisonment. He is being held in a temporary detention facility in Khmelnytskyi, awaiting transfer to prison.
Andriy 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.
Believer POZNIAK OLEKSIY, International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Odessa)
Oleksiy 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.
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 SERHIY, Baptist (Brody village, Lviv region)
Serhiy Semchuk
Serhiy 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
Believer SHUMYNSKYI ANDRIY, International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ICCECB) (Kvasilov, Rivne region)
Andriy 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.
Believer STADNYTSKYI SERHIY, Evangelical believer (Korchin village, Lviv region)
Serhiy 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 Serhiy 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 SERHIY, Jehovah’s Witness (Popelnya village, Zhytomyr region)
Serhiy 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.
Serhiy 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.
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.
Andriy 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.
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.
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
