A 34-year-old Russian soldier, Viktor Semenov, is standing trial in Volgograd after leaving his military unit for over a month.
Prosecutors contend that Semenov failed to return from leave because he wanted to take a break from military service in Ukraine, local news outlet v1.ru reported.
Semenov says he overstayed his leave to care for his 10-year-old daughter, Elena, after his ex-wife Maria fell gravely ill and died in intensive care.
According to Semenov, his ex-wife and daughter were both admitted to hospital on September 13, 2025. Maria suffered from double pneumonia and died in intensive care on September 22.
While Maria was in hospital, Elena remained in the in-patient ward without a legal representative present. Semenov subsequently collected the child from the hospital once he was able to do so.
Efforts to secure discharge
Semenov said he attempted to submit a formal report requesting early discharge from military service, but his unit commander ignored the request.
A lawyer hired in October 2025 received no response to formal inquiries. Subsequent appeals submitted to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the main federal agency responsible for investigating serious crimes, also went unanswered.
It took 11 months for the legal process to move forward, until a court finally ordered military authorities in June 2026 to consider his discharge report.
Semenov stated that his commander could have invited him to return to the unit to resolve the matter together, but suggested that military officials had deliberately ignored his submissions.
Legal context and judicial background
The case is currently being heard by the Volgograd Garrison Military Court, a tribunal that handles criminal cases involving military personnel in the region. Volgograd is a major city and administrative center in southwestern Russia located on the Volga River.
Service members in the special military operation, Russia's official designation for its military campaign in Ukraine, face strict legal obligations regarding unit attendance and leave.
Unauthorized abandonment of a unit carries severe prison terms under Russian military law.
In a separate case in Moscow, a female service member originally from Gorlovka was previously sentenced to five years in a penal colony after being convicted of leaving her unit without authorization.
