Adventist Deacon Sentenced in Poltava Region for Refusing Mobilization

The Dykanka District Court in Poltava Region has found a deacon of the religious organization “Seventh-day Adventist Church” from Zhytomyr Region guilty of evading mobilization. He was sentenced to three years in prison with a one-year probationary period. The verdict was published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

According to the case materials, on September 25, 2024, a resident of the village of Buchmany was declared fit for military service. That same day, he was served a summons for deployment to a military unit, but refused to accept it, citing his religious beliefs. According to his faith, he is prohibited from bearing arms and working on Saturdays.

In court, the deacon stated that he has been a devout member of the Church since childhood, was baptized at the age of 18, and is willing to fulfill his civic duty in a non-military alternative service format. However, under martial law, Ukrainian legislation does not provide such an option — even those assigned to support roles (such as cooks or drivers) must undergo weapons training and take the military oath, which contradicts his religious convictions.

The court found these arguments insufficient to justify exemption from mobilization and ruled to impose punishment under Part 1 of Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The verdict has come into force.

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported on a list of religious organizations granted “critical” status by the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience. This designation allows their representatives to apply for deferment from mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The list reportedly includes Old Believer churches (some of which explicitly reference ties to Russia in their names), various “exotic” pagan-oriented religious groups, and even members of the UAOC, which was dissolved after the creation of the OCU in 2018.