The father of the deceased border guard was paid 2.27 million hryvnias instead of 15 million: what the court ruled

The father of a servicemember with the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who died of a second heart attack while undergoing rehabilitation, has challenged the amount of the one-time financial assistance. Although a military medical commission confirmed that the fatal illness was related to the defense of the homeland, the man was awarded 2.27 million hryvnias instead of 15 million hryvnias.

The plaintiff believed he was entitled to the full amount of assistance provided for the families of servicemembers who died during martial law. The Lviv District Administrative Court heard Case No. 380/6219/26, which raised the issue of applying the relevant legal provisions and the Supreme Court’s legal position, as amended in 2026.

As established by the court, the servicemember, born in 1969, served in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine with the rank of senior private. He was mobilized and served in one of the mobile border guard detachments.

On November 13, 2024, the man died while undergoing rehabilitation at a sanatorium in the village of Nemyriv, Yavoriv District, Lviv Oblast. According to the Lviv Oblast Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, the cause of death was a recurrent myocardial infarction.

The case file contained two important documents.

First, the accident reports, approved on December 15, 2024, confirmed that the servicemember died while performing his military duties. It was also established that the death did not result from a criminal offense, intoxication, intentional self-harm, or suicide.

Second, the Central Military Medical Commission of the State Border Guard Service, in its conclusion No. 81 dated January 30, 2025, determined that the illness that led to the senior soldier’s death was related to the defense of the homeland.

Thus, the very fact that the fatal illness was linked to the defense of Ukraine was not disputed. The dispute centered on whether these circumstances entitled the family to a special one-time benefit in the amount of 15 million hryvnias.

In November 2025, the father of the deceased servicemember filed an application for a one-time cash benefit in connection with his son’s death.

On January 26, 2026, the Administration of the State Border Guard Service adopted Decision No. 68 to award the man 2,271,000 UAH. The amount was calculated as 750 times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, as established as of January 1 of the year of the servicemember’s death.

In accordance with this decision, the border guard detachment issued the corresponding order on February 16, 2026. By February 25, the funds had been transferred to the father’s bank account.

However, the man believed he was entitled to a significantly larger amount—15 million UAH—in accordance with Resolution No. 168 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated February 28, 2022, which provides for special payments to military personnel and their families during a period of martial law.

On February 20, 2026, he submitted an application requesting assistance in the amount of 15 million hryvnias. In response, the border guard detachment informed him that the payment would be made in accordance with a decision already adopted by the State Border Guard Service Administration based on Order No. 975.

Disagreeing with the amount of the benefit, the man filed an administrative lawsuit in court.

He requested:

• that the decision of the State Border Guard Service Administration and the order of the border guard detachment, which awarded him financial assistance in the amount of 2,271,000 UAH, be declared unlawful and revoked;
• that the defendants be ordered to issue a decision granting a one-time monetary benefit in the amount of no less than 15 million UAH.

The key issue in the dispute was whether the Medical Expert Commission’s conclusion regarding the link between the fatal illness and the defense of the homeland constituted sufficient grounds for awarding precisely 15 million UAH, as well as how the relevant regulations and the legal position of the Supreme Court should be applied in this situation.

The Medical Examination Commission’s conclusion itself confirms the link between the illness and the defense of the homeland; however, the question of the payment amount requires a separate legal assessment. The cited portion of the case file does not specify the court’s final ruling regarding the father’s claims.

Previously, the family of a servicemember who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while performing a combat mission had to go to court to secure a payment of 15 million hryvnias. The Ministry of Defense refused to grant the benefit, arguing that the soldier died as a result of an accident, not a combat injury.