The Ministry of Defense announced changes to increase the responsibility of commanders
The new rules establish the concept of a report and determine its forms - oral, written and electronic.
To increase the responsibility of commanders and protect the rights of servicemen, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine introduced changes to the system of working with reports. These innovations provide for the creation of more transparent and clear mechanisms for submission and consideration of reports, aimed at ensuring effective feedback between the military and its commanders.
As reported on the official website of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the new rules are approved by Order No. 531 of August 6, 2024 “On approval of the Procedure for organizing work with reports of military personnel in the system of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine”. The main purpose of these changes is to protect the rights of the military, establish clear deadlines for consideration of appeals, and increase the responsibility of commanders for the performance of their duties.
The new rules introduce a clear definition of the concept of a report and establish its forms: oral, written and electronic. A clear sequence and procedure for approval of the report by commanders is also introduced, which ensures transparency and objectivity in decision-making.
Deputy Minister of Defense Nataliya Kalmykova noted that until now there was no single regulatory act that would regulate the issue of reports. This often led to problems in informing service members about the results of their reports, made it difficult to track these processes and created risks of abuse by commanders.
“We are introducing a new system that will allow us to bring order in this area, establish clear deadlines, rules and responsibility for their violation. This will ensure the protection of the rights of servicemen and facilitate consideration of important issues.”Kalmykova emphasized.
In addition, the new rules provide for mandatory justification in case of refusal to approve the report and establish clear deadlines for its consideration. From now on, consideration of a paper report of servicemen by all his direct commanders is carried out immediately, but no later than 48 hours from the moment of its submission, if the report concerns issues related to:
- military discipline,
- execution of combat orders and orders,
- preservation of life and health of personnel,
- leave for family reasons or for other valid reasons.
Reports concerning other issues are considered within 14 days from the date of submission.
The same order determines the consequences of violation of executive discipline regarding the consideration of reports and abuse of rights to submit them. At the same time, the new Procedure ensures that servicemen cannot be prosecuted only for the fact of submitting a report, which contributes to the additional protection of their rights.
