Some of the cases concerning СЗЧ are to be taken away from the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR): the investigations will be handed over to the military

The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation Oleksiy Sukhachov proposed to grant the Military Law Enforcement Service the authority to investigate unauthorized unit abandonment, desertion, insubordination, and some other military crimes. He said this in an interview with “Interfax-Ukraine”, published on 6 July 2026.

Under the SBI’s proposal, the MLES would investigate crimes committed by servicemembers who do not hold officer rank, while cases involving officers would remain with the Bureau.

“Our proposal is as follows: to grant the Military Law Enforcement Service the right of pre-trial investigation. This can be easily done within the existing staffing levels of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, without increasing funding,” said Oleksiy Sukhachov.

According to the SBI director, the MLES accounts for about 1.5% of the total strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The new investigative unit is proposed to be formed from servicemembers with legal education and experience in operational or investigative positions.

“We proposed to select personnel from among servicemembers who have legal education and experience in operational or investigative positions in law enforcement agencies, to form from this category an effective unit that will immediately begin investigating criminal cases of the specified categories,” the SBI director explained.

The corresponding bill is under consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s Committee on Law Enforcement. Oleksiy Sukhachov hopes that parliament will support the redistribution of powers.

“For us, for the state, for the security of society as a whole, this is very important. So we hope and expect that parliament will meet us halfway, pay greater attention to the problem of unauthorized unit departures (SZCh) and support this initiative.”

At the same time, the SBI director opposed the creation of separate military courts, explaining this by additional budgetary costs, the need to form a new apparatus, and a shortage of judges.

“My personal view is that this should not be done. It is a large expense in both finances and time. Military courts need a specific budget: to create the apparatus, technical support, etc. And I’m not even talking about personnel, when courts already critically lack judges,” noted Oleksiy Sukhachov.

Earlier we wrote:

• Servicemen who left their units without permission (SZCh) can return to service via “Army+”: how the mechanism works
• 100 days to return from SZCh: the Ministry of Defense explained new rules for servicemembers
• “Evacuation” Ukrainian-style: for $15,000 they promised to hide people from service
• The General Staff simplified returning after SZCh
• Three soldiers explained why they left the army