On June 18, 2025, Bill No. 13384 was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Procedure for Bringing Criminal Charges for Insulting the Honor and Dignity of a Military Servicemember or Threatening a Military Servicemember” (hereinafter referred to as the “bill”).

https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/Bills/Card/56627

The bill proposes:

• amend the Criminal Code of Ukraine by deleting Article 435-1 from Section XIX, “Criminal Offenses Against the Established Order of Military Service (Military Criminal Offenses)”;
• to supplement Section XV, “Criminal Offenses Against the Authority of State Authorities, Local Self-Government Bodies, and Citizens’ Associations, and Criminal Offenses Against Journalists,” with Article 350-1 of similar content, and to amend the title of the section accordingly;
• In connection with the deletion of Article 435-1 from the Criminal Code of Ukraine, it is proposed that the aforementioned article also be deleted from the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

In the authors’ opinion, the draft law was developed with the aim of improving the procedure for bringing criminal charges for insulting the honor and dignity of a military servicemember or threatening a military servicemember.

Is there really a need for these changes?

The relevance of this draft law lies in the need to legislatively define the scope of persons subject to this criminal offense.

Thus, Law No. 2110-IX of March 3, 2022, criminalized the insult to the honor and dignity of a military servicemember and threats against a military servicemember, and the corresponding article was included in Section XIX, “Criminal Offenses Against the Established Order of Military Service (Military Criminal Offenses),” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Thus, Part 1 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine stipulates that military criminal offenses are defined as the criminal offenses provided for in this section against the order of military service established by law, committed by military personnel, as well as by conscripts and reservists during training exercises.

However, when the aforementioned law was adopted, it failed to take into account that the subject of all, without exception, criminal offenses provided for in this section is a special category explicitly defined in Part 2 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely: military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, and other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine; the State Special Transport Service; the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine; as well as other persons specified by law.

Thus, since Article 435-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is included in Section XIX, “Criminal Offenses Against the Established Order of Military Service (Military Criminal Offenses),” civilians cannot be perpetrators of this offense.

In the opinion of the authors of the bill, it is advisable to remove Article 453-1 from the aforementioned section, to supplement Section XV with a new article of similar content, and to amend the title of the section itself.

Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine

The bill also provides for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine; however, in the explanatory note, the authors of the bill do not in any way justify the need for such changes, limiting themselves to the statement: “In connection with the deletion of Article 435-1 from the Criminal Code of Ukraine, it is proposed to delete the aforementioned article from the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine as well.”

Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, from which Article 435-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is proposed to be removed, stipulates that security investigative agencies conduct pretrial investigations of certain criminal offenses.

However, if this bill is adopted, pretrial investigations of this criminal offense will be conducted by investigative bodies of the National Police.

Thus, the bill changes not only the elements of the criminal offense but also the jurisdiction over it.

Legal Consequences of Adoption

Adoption of the bill will make it possible to improve the procedure for holding individuals criminally liable for insulting the honor and dignity of a military servicemember or threatening a military servicemember by including the relevant article in Section XV of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Thus, it will be established that the perpetrator of this offense may be any mentally competent individual who committed the criminal offense at an age at which, according to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, criminal liability may arise.

Conclusions

Military personnel who, day after day, risk their lives to defend the interests of the state and its citizens and fulfill their constitutional duty must, in turn, be protected by the state.

The war, which has been ongoing in the country for several years now, is the reason for daily interactions both among military personnel and with civilians. Defining the limits of such interaction is an extremely important issue, including by establishing criminal liability for insulting the honor and dignity of a military servicemember or threatening a military servicemember for all persons of sound mind, without exception.