Access to data on unauthorized abandonment of military unit and desertion will be restricted until end of martial law - Prosecutor General's Office
The Prosecutor General's Office announced restrictions on access to information on military offenses committed, in particular, under Article 407 (Unauthorized abandonment of a military unit) and Article 408 (Desertion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The press service of the department reported on Wednesday, December 10.
The Prosecutor General's Office reminded that military criminal offenses belong to the category of restricted information. Restricting access to this information is a necessary step. It is aimed at:
- protecting national security;
- preventing the use of such data against Ukraine;
- preserving stability and confidence in the Ukrainian Defense Forces in times of war;
- countering information and psychological operations (IPO) of the aggressor country.
It is emphasized that the dissemination of even generalized statistics on the number of the above offenses may harm defense activities and information security.
In this regard, the following information will be limited:
- generalized statistical data on criminal offenses under Section XIX of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
- information about the persons who committed such offenses;
- information contained in documents of prosecutors' offices and related to the specified category of criminal offenses.
The Prosecutor General's Office added that the restrictions are introduced only for the period of martial law.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in October this year, the Prosecutor General's Office said, that from January 2022 to September 2025, almost 290,000 criminal proceedings were opened in Ukraine under the article on unauthorized abandonment of a military unit.
Recall that in August, the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Ukraine Oleksii Sukhachov said that since November 2024, almost 30,000 servicemen have returned after an unauthorized abandonment of a military unit.