Record influx of cases regarding the status of single parents: how the war changed court statistics

Over the past three years, the number of court cases regarding the official establishment of the status of a single father has increased 67 times. At least 1,255 such cases have been recorded in the court register since the beginning of the full-scale war. About this informs  The opendatabase.

In the period from January to May 2022, six cases were recorded, while for the same period in 2025 there were already 400. In total, 37 such cases were registered in 2022, in 2023 their number increased to 180, and in 2024 to 625. In the first months of 2025, the courts considered at least 400 such cases, which is 3.1 times more than in the same period of the previous year.

Obtaining the status of a single father gives the right to travel abroad, which is relevant in the conditions of restrictions for men aged 18 to 60 during martial law.

The status of a single father is granted to a man who is not married and raises a child independently without the participation of the mother. The reasons for obtaining the status can be the death of the mother, her recognition as missing or refusal to take the child from the maternity hospital. If the mother is alive, but does not actually take part in raising the child, the status of a single father can also be granted, but the procedure is more complicated.

In connection with the recording of abuses of this mechanism under martial law, state bodies and courts have strengthened control over such cases. This makes obtaining status difficult for some applicants.

Since the beginning of 2022, almost 45,000 men have left Ukraine illegally, and another 30,000 have been detained while trying to cross the border illegally.