News date: 5 June 2026
The Civil Cassation Court within the Supreme Court granted the cassation appeal in a case concerning the declaration of a missing soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as deceased, overturned the judgments of the first and appellate instances courts, and remanded the case for a new trial. The relevant decision was rendered on May 20, 2026.
Ilyashev & Partners’ client applied to the court to declare her husband, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, deceased in connection with the performance of combat duties. According to the case files, the soldier went missing on June 09, 2022, during a firefight with the enemy in the Donetsk Region, which is confirmed by the materials of the official investigation conducted by the military unit and data from the Unified Register of Missing Persons under Special Circumstances.
Judicially declaring the individual deceased was essential for the defender’s family to exercise their state-guaranteed socio-economic rights, in particular, to apply for financial assistance for the family of the deceased and to enter into inheritance.
Despite the availability of documents, the courts of first and appellate instances groundlessly denied the application, citing the fact that the territory where the combat engagement occurred is currently temporarily occupied by the russian federation, hostilities in Ukraine are ongoing, and the body of the soldier has not been found or identified. This approach virtually deprived the soldier’s family of the opportunity to obtain the proper legal status and social support from the state.
Ilyashev & Partners’ dispute resolution practice team proved in the Supreme Court that the conclusions of the courts of first and appellate instances were erroneous, as they were based on an incorrect interpretation of substantive law and directly contradicted the legal nature of the civil law institute of declaring a person deceased.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the absence of the fact of discovery or identification of the body or remains of a deceased person cannot constitute grounds for refusal; therefore, the case was remanded for a new trial to the court of first instance.
The project was handled by Oleksandr Denysenko, Attorney and Counsel at Ilyashev & Partners. Legal services to the family of the soldier were provided by Ilyashev & Partners on a pro bono basis.