Court rules to keep Serhiy Hnezdilov in custody

The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has ruled to keep Serhiy Hnezdilov, a soldier of the Mariupol separate motorized infantry brigade No. 56 who openly left his duty station without leave in September 2024, in custody without bail until January 31.

The judgement was passed on January 6, Suspilne reports.

Prosecutor Mykola Shelest asked the court to extend Hnezdilov's term in custody without bail until March 15. He believes that the soldier may be hiding from the investigation and prosecution.

Serhiy Hnezdilov at a hearing in the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, January 6, 2025. Photo by Suspilne Novyny

Hnezdilov's lawyer Anastasia Burkovska asked the court to relax the measure of restraint by replacing detention with house arrest.

Hnezdilov himself said in a comment to Suspilne that he had reminded the judge of his consenting to return to his army unit, which in turn consented to him resuming service.

“First, we were given leave to go back. Now for some reason they are refusing. It seems that they are trying to stall as much as possible as if to say: dear people, this is what will happen to all of you,” he said.

The court decided to keep Hnezdilov in custody until January 31, 2025. According to attorney Burkovska, they received an indictment and further hearings on the merits of her client will take place in Dnipro, where the crime was committed.

The first court hearing in the Hnezdilov case is scheduled for January 10.

Previously

On September 21, Serhiy Hnezdilov wrote on Facebook that he had left his duty station unauthorized to draw attention to the need to establish a service period for conscripts.

The Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade (SMIB) No. 53, where he serves, ordered an official investigation and announced that the serviceman "committed actions that contain signs of a crime."

The police opened a desertion case over Serhiy Hnezdilov leaving his duty station unauthorized.

On October 9, 2024, the State Bureau of Investigation detained Serhiy Hnezdilov on suspicion of deserting a military unit to evade military service under martial law (Part 4, Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He faces up to 12 years in prison.

Serhiy Hnezdilov is a Ukrainian serviceman, public activist and participant in the Russo-Ukrainian war. He volunteered for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2019, taking an academic leave from studying at the Journalism Department of the Lviv Polytechnic University.

Hnezdilov has taken part in battles in Donetsk oblast, including Pisky and Bakhmut. He is the founder of the cultural festival "VydelkaFest" in his hometown Vylkove in Odesa oblast, and hosts the "++ Podcast" on Hromadske, where he interviews soldiers and discusses the militarization of the society.