In the Rivne region, the Rivne District Court ordered the mother of serviceman Dmytro Panchuk to return to him nearly 3,9 million hryvnias received during his time in Russian captivity; the first hearing in the case took place on 20 March.
According to media reports, the claim was partially granted, and the final amount was adjusted after reconciliation with the military unit of the actual paid monetary allowances, since the initial calculations contained inaccuracies.
The plaintiff in the case was serviceman Dmytro Panchuk. He noted that his mother refused to return the received funds and, in addition, deregistered him from the residence.
At the first hearing on 20 March, the defendant’s representatives announced their intention to conclude a settlement agreement. The proposed option envisaged monthly payments of about 5 thousand hryvnias and reinstatement of the residence registration, however the serviceman did not accept those terms.
Dmytro Panchuk explained why he rejected the mother’s side offer.
— No one spoke to me directly; they went through a lawyer and presented their terms, so to speak, for a settlement. They will pay five thousand hryvnias, give or take, monthly and will re-register me in the house. That does nothing to affect the situation; I still haven’t heard any apologies, nothing like that,
The court ruled to recover from the defendant nearly 3,9 million hryvnias, the amount of which was determined based on the actual paid monetary allowances according to the military unit’s data.
Separately, court costs in the amount of 14,7 thousand hryvnias were ordered to be recovered in favor of the plaintiff, since the claim was filed through the e-court system.
The serviceman’s lawyer, Vasyl Kharchuk, noted that his client’s expectations were generally confirmed and that this decision could be useful in similar cases.
— The court’s decision is what we expected. That is, our claims have been satisfied in full. The only thing is that there is some unclear situation with the calculation. When we receive the full text of the court decision, we’ll see who made the error with the calculation. Perhaps this decision will also benefit someone else, and someone will use it to protect their rights in similar court cases,
At the same time, the mother’s defense is considering appealing the ruling to an appellate court, emphasizing their readiness to settle the conflict through a settlement agreement.
Previously we reported:
- Released from Russian captivity: servicemen receive an expanded package of payments and state benefits
- “They’ve been there since 2022”: Zelensky announced the return of another 300 prisoners
- Ministry of Defense: Nazar Daletskyi’s family should not have to return payments after his return from captivity
- Scandal in a Mykolaiv military unit: illegal payments totaling a million hryvnias
