The court: military officer Gnezdilov, who publicly left the SZCH, must return to his brigade

On January 23, the Babushkin District Court of Dnipro made a decision in the case of Serhii Hnezdilov, a serviceman of the 56th Military Police Brigade, who publicly voluntarily left his unit. As the RFE/RL correspondent reports from the courtroom, the court agreed to the defense’s request for release from criminal liability and reinstatement in the brigade.

In three days, Serhiy Gnezdilov must return to the place of duty as an air traffic control operator, the parties to the process can appeal within seven days.

On September 1, 2024, Serhiy Gnezdilov, who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces in 2019, voluntarily left the military unit and announced this publicly in order, according to him, to draw attention to the need for rotations for the infantry, as well as to the lack of clear terms for service.

The 56th Military Police Brigade reacted to Gnezdilov’s actions, ordered an official investigation there and declared that the soldier “committed actions that contain signs of a criminal offense.”

Opinions in society about the SZCH of Gnezdilov were divided: some criticized the voluntary dismissal from the unit, while others, on the contrary, supported it.

Hnezdilov also wrote on his Facebook about at least 80,000 cases of SZH. RFE/RL has sent a request to the Ministry of Defense for this information, but has not yet received a response.

Hnezdilov pointed out that “SZCH is a criminal offense”, however, he called for solving problems, and not being silent about them.

On September 24, the prosecutor’s office announced the opening of criminal proceedings against Hnezdilov.