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Another victory for a democratic mobilisation in Ukraine: the government backs down in the face of protests
Source: Patrick Le Tréhondat
September 6, 2025
Message from Alina Sarnatska (combat medic, pictured) ”Friends, thank you. This time, we have achieved our goal.
“I hope that these two protests (‘against independence of anti-corruption agencies’ and ‘against military discrimination’) will prevent the authorities from taking such ill-considered and unreasonable measures in the future. We are keeping an eye on them. We are a reliable backbone for our military.
“The Ministry of Defence held consultations with the heads of the Verkhovna Rada committees on law enforcement and national security, defence and intelligence regarding the draft laws that have caused public resonance.
“It should be noted that the Ministry and parliamentarians have reached an agreement on full support for the draft law ‘On the Military Ombudsman’ submitted to parliament by the President.
“At the same time, the Ministry of Defence supports the position of the parliamentary committees on the need to exclude from Bill 13452 the provisions aimed at increasing the responsibility of military personnel in cases of disobedience.
“The Ministry of Defence believes that Bill 13452 should be finalised in collaboration with the relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada. Discipline in the army should be based not on punishment but on justice, the ministry stressed.
“At the same time, the Law Enforcement Committee noted in its conclusion that before the second reading, the provisions stipulating that there are no alternatives to cruel punishments in the form of imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years should be removed and the possibility of imposing a lighter sentence should be left.
Content of Bills 13452 and 13620
(Source: Sotsialnyi Rukh (Soial Movement) Facebook page, edited machine translation) Bills No. 13452 and No. 13620 are under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada, aimed at strengthening criminal liability for the military. Their authors explain the move as a necessity to strengthen discipline. However, the experience of recent years proves the opposite: punitive standards not only do not solve problems, but also create new ones.
In 2022, Parliament has already passed Law No. 8271, which deprived the courts of the right to take into account mitigating circumstances and to assign conditional terms for certain categories of war crimes.
Since then, even minor violations started to entail years of imprisonment. The most common example is SZCH [absence from duty]. If courts could previously give conditional sentences, then now at least five years of real imprisonment is entailed.
However, statistics show that discipline has not improved from this approach. In 2023 16,316 proceedings were registered for SZCH. In 2024 - already 62,505, and only in the first seven months of 2025 - 107,999. Similar trends are observed under other articles [dealing with military indiscipline].
At the same time, military personnel do not receive any compensation or incentives. Salaries remain humiliatingly low, especially in the rearguard, where the base rate is about 20,000 UAH [=€413]. The system of additional payments creates inequality: frontliners' bonuses exceed the base rate several times, but they are easily stripped by administrative decisions. The authorities have also not taken any step towards determining clear terms of service.
Probably the most legally vulnerable person today is a military serviceman or servicewoman.
He/she is the one who bears the greatest risks, but has no effective tools to protect his or her rights. Formally there is an Institute of Military Ombudsman, but without a law regulating her activities, this position is practically powerless.
Social Movement considers that instead of further restriction of military rights it is necessary:
- To approve the law of a military ombudsman that could really protect armed forces personnel;
- To oppose the adoption of Bill 13452;
- To repeal repressive rules of law 8271, which have proven their ineffectiveness.
We urge all concerned people to come to Independence Square for the action in support of the military (2000, Friday, September 5).
'Service is not slavery' — Protesters in Kyiv rally against harsh penalties for soldiers
September 5, 2025
by Abbey Fenbert (Kyiv Independent)
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Kyiv's Independence Square the evening of September 5 to protest parliamentary bills that would impose tougher criminal penalties on soldiers for disobedience.
"Service is not slavery!" the crowd chanted.
The protests target two bills under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament: draft laws 13452 and 13260. Draft law 13260, which parliament passed in the first reading on September 4, effectively reinstates criminal liability for soldiers using illegal weapons.
Draft law 13452 increases liability for military personnel who disobey orders. It is currently up for consideration in parliament. Protesters held signs that read "Repression is not discipline" and "We must protect those who protect us," among others. Participants called on the government to vote down the two laws, as well as establish clear terms of military service and appoint a military ombudsman.
The rally marks the second time this summer that Kyiv residents have taken to the streets to demand change. In July, Ukrainians staged mass protests after the parliament hastily passed — and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed — laws dismantling the country's independent anti-corruption agencies.
The protests began in the capital and quickly spread to cities throughout the country, lasting for several days before the decision was eventually overturned.
The movement drew comparisons to Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution of 2013 — also staged on Kyiv's Independence Square.
The central theme of the September 5 protests is "no to military discrimination," according to one of the action's organizers, combat medic and veteran Alina Sarnatska.
"The approach of 'increasing punishment and thus improving discipline' does not work," Sarnatska wrote on Facebook ahead of the protest.
"The attitude towards the military is already extremely unfair, salaries in the rear are humiliatingly low, terms of service indefinite. We need a military ombudsman law. This is a real mechanism for solving the problems in the military and protecting the rights of service members who risk their lives every day for our country."
‘Support the military’: The movement started to spread today, with a 50-strong demonstration in Dnipro
Source: Patrick Le Tréhondat
September 6, 2025
“Soldiers are not slaves!” In Dnipro, citizens took to the streets to protest the laws increasing penalties for military indiscipline
In Dnipro, around 50 people demonstrated against a bill that aims to increase the responsibility of soldiers in cases of unauthorized abandonment of a unit.
The protesters also opposed increased liability for military personnel in cases of insubordination and demanded the adoption of a bill on a military ombudsman.
The rally began with a minute of silence in memory of those who died fighting for Ukraine. The national anthem was then played."