Article 66 of the VLK

Correctly determining the health status of a conscript plays an important role for his future. Especially when it comes to those who have serious illnesses. In some cases, this may be the basis for recognizing unfitness and exclusion from military registration. In other situations, this will be the basis for a person to be assigned not to a combat unit, but to a rear or support unit. Let us consider in more detail Article 66 of the Military Code of Ukraine. This is Section 14 of the Order of the Ministry of Defense “On Approval of the Regulations on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. The aforementioned article mentions diseases of the genitourinary system (a number of diseases related to the kidneys).

If you are interested in legal advice on this topic, the military law specialists of the law firm “Prykhodko and Partners” are ready to offer their help. We can also be useful not only with consulting assistance, but also with a whole range of other services, which we will talk about below.

What diseases are covered by Article 66 of the Civil Code?

So, this article covers glomerular as well as tubulointerstitial kidney diseases, including:

• nephrotic syndrome;
• chronic interstitial nephritis;
• pyelonephritis;
• acute pyelitis;
• nephropathies;
• renal failure;
• chronic primary pyelonephritis;
• tubulointerstitial nephritis.

Below you can see a table describing the different categories that correspond to the severity of the disease. The most severe manifestations are characteristic of category A. It refers to significant disorders of the body's functions, which lead to the fact that the person is completely unfit for military service.

Category B includes moderate and minor disorders in the body's functioning due to the listed diseases. In this case, it is said that persons with such diseases are not suitable for service in combat units, but can serve in the following units and structures:

• TCK and SP;
• higher military educational institutions;
• training centers;
• medical units;
• security units;
• communications units;
• logistics units;
• operational support units.

Thus, the cited regulatory legal act provides for a fairly thorough delimitation of the degrees of diseases and the determination of their impact on the unit and position where the mobilized person can be involved in the defense of the state.

What diseases belong to paragraph 66-A?

So, persons who are unfit for military service in accordance with this paragraph are those who suffer from chronic kidney disease complicated by chronic kidney disease of 2-4 degrees or chronic kidney disease of IV-V stages:

• chronic glomerulonephritis;
• renal amyloidosis;
• chronic primary pyelonephritis.

Now let's consider category B in more detail.

What diseases belong to paragraph 66-B?

Regarding point B, this includes chronic kidney disease with moderate impairment of their partial functions with chronic kidney disease of 0-1 degree or CKD stage III. Moderate impairment of kidney function, in accordance with the classification according to this regulatory legal act, includes:

• presence of urinary syndrome (in particular, persistent erythrocyturia, leukocyturia, proteinuria);
• decrease in secretory or excretory segments on radioisotope rheography by more than 30% of the norm;
• persistent decrease in relative urine density (according to the Zimnytsky test).

It is in such cases that a person should be directed to serve in the rear or support unit.

What problems do conscripts face in practice?

As practice shows, conscripts often face the fact that their health status is presented in the military service documents as better than it actually is. This, in turn, affects their future fate. A person with significant health problems may be recognized as having moderate health problems and sent to a support unit at a time when they have reason not to serve in the army at all. And those with moderate health problems may be recognized as fully fit and sent to a combat unit.

Unfortunately, in practice, there are often situations when authorized persons of the military service conduct an examination improperly, which affects its result. In order not to get into such a situation, it is worth going to the military service with your lawyer. The presence of a specialist can be useful for several reasons:

• a military lawyer will ensure that all procedures are carried out in accordance with the norms of current legislation without violations;
• If such violations cannot be avoided, the lawyer will record them in order to use them in a legal appeal;
• you will be sure that you will not sign any documents whose content you do not fully understand.

To order the services of a military lawyer from the law firm "Prikhodko and Partners", fill out the feedback form on our website. Then a specialist will call you back for an initial consultation.