Help for RelativesMinimal risk 8 min
Listed as AWOL Instead of Missing: How Families Can Challenge the Status and Restore Payments
Please noteAn order declaring a soldier AWOL ("SOCh" — unauthorised abandonment of the unit) stops his pay from the date named by the commander and blocks the payments owed to the family of a missing or killed serviceman. It will not correct itself: the family needs an order declaring him missing in action, which takes evidence that he was sent on a combat mission and written pressure on the unit through the military prosecutor.
Ready-made textYou can copy it and fill in your own details
To the Military Prosecutor of the [name] garrison
Copy: Commander of military unit [number]
From [applicant's full name], [relationship], address: [address], tel.: [phone]
COMPLAINT
against an unlawful order declaring a serviceman to have abandoned his unit without leave
My [son / husband / brother] [full name], [date of birth], [rank], military unit [number], left on [date] to carry out a combat mission in the area of [locality / axis], after which contact with him was lost. By order of the commander of military unit [number] of [date, if known] he was declared to have abandoned the unit without leave (SOCh).
I consider the order unlawful. The serviceman did not leave his place of service of his own will; he went missing while carrying out a combat mission. This is confirmed by: [last messages of [date] about leaving on the mission; statements of fellow soldiers [names / call signs, contacts]; answers from the command / deputy commander of [date]; other information]. As far as I know, no official inquiry into his absence was carried out, or its results were not communicated to me.
The SOCh status violates the rights of his family. Under paras. 107–108 of the Procedure for Paying Military Allowances (Order of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation No. 727 of 06.12.2019) payment of his allowance has been suspended, and the family is deprived of the payments due under paras. 109–111 of the Procedure to families of servicemen who are missing.
I request that you:
1. Review the lawfulness of the order declaring [full name] to have abandoned the unit without leave.
2. Establish whether an official inquiry into his absence was conducted and obtain its materials (combat orders, combat log, statements of commanders and fellow soldiers).
3. If violations are confirmed, issue a demand to revoke the SOCh order and to issue an order declaring the serviceman missing in action while carrying out a combat mission.
4. Take measures to organise a search for the serviceman, including checking the lists of wounded, killed and captured.
5. Inform me in writing of the results within the time limit set by Federal Law No. 59-FZ of 02.05.2006.
Attachments: copies of documents proving kinship; dated screenshots of messages; contacts of witnesses; copy of the SOCh order (if available); replies from the unit (if any).
[Date] [Signature]
Sequence of actions6 steps in sequence
1
Immediately preserve everything that proves the combat mission
The key argument against SOCh is that the soldier did not run away — he was sent on a mission. Take screenshots of his last messages, voice notes and photos with the date and time, especially if he wrote "going out on a mission", "moving to positions" or reported a wound. Write down the names, call signs and phone numbers of fellow soldiers who saw him on the mission or know of his death, and everything the commander or deputy commander said to you verbally.
Important: Messages can disappear: chats get deleted, numbers change. If the correspondence is critical, have a notary certify it with an inspection report — courts accept such a document without disputes over authenticity.
2
Request the order and the inquiry results from the unit in writing
Under SOCh, pay is suspended from the date named in the commander's order and resumed based on the results of an inquiry (para. 107 of the Procedure, Defence Ministry Order No. 727). Send the unit commander a registered letter with a list of contents, or submit a request through the military enlistment office: ask for an extract from the SOCh order and for information on the official inquiry and search measures. By law the reply is due within 30 days (Federal Law No. 59-FZ).
Important: If they refuse citing personal data, point out that the order directly affects the family's right to payments under paras. 109–111 of the same Procedure, and attach the refusal to your complaint to the prosecutor.
3
File a complaint with the military prosecutor
The military prosecutor's office reviews the lawfulness of commanders' orders. Send a complaint (ready-made text at the top of this page) to the military prosecutor of the garrison the unit belongs to, with a copy to the commander. In parallel you can file through the online reception of the Prosecutor General's Office, choosing the Main Military Prosecutor's Office. The key request is to revoke the SOCh order and issue an order declaring him missing in action while carrying out a combat mission.
Important: Reviews take months — families report waiting up to 7–8 months. Do not wait for the answer before taking the next steps: they run in parallel.
4
Secure a missing-in-action order — payments depend on it
The family of a missing serviceman receives his monthly allowance. It is paid to the spouse or other family members who lived with him, based on the commander's order on his disappearance and an application from a family member (paras. 109–111 of the Procedure). While the unit's SOCh order stands, these payments will not be granted. So the goal of every complaint is not just to "remove SOCh" but to obtain a missing-in-action order.
Important: Once such an order is issued, submit an application to the unit for payment of the allowance to the family. The military enlistment office at your place of residence helps prepare it.
5
Court: declaring him missing and declaring him dead
If there has been no information about the soldier for six months, including because the commander did not provide it, interested persons may apply to court to have him declared missing (Art. 23 of Federal Law No. 52-FZ for participants in the "special military operation"). If he disappeared in circumstances that threatened death, he can be declared dead after six months, or three months after a court decision declaring him missing (Art. 24 of the same law). The application is filed with the court at the applicant's place of residence. Relatives of participants are exempt from the state fee (Federal Law No. 230-FZ of 23.07.2025). A document describing the circumstances of the disappearance may be attached.
Important: The evidence from step 1 matters most in court: it shows he disappeared on a mission rather than leaving on his own. It determines which date and circumstances the court states in its decision.
6
Challenging the order itself and other channels
A commander's order can be challenged in a garrison military court under the Code of Administrative Procedure — usually within three months of learning about it. Such a claim is filed by the serviceman himself or his representative under a power of attorney. If there is no power of attorney, discuss the family's standing to sue with a military lawyer, and meanwhile act through the prosecutor and the civil court (steps 3 and 5). Appeals to the regional human rights ombudsman and to a deputy also help, as does DNA submission by relatives for matching against unidentified remains.
Important: Submit a search request for the soldier on this site ("Missing in action" → "Submit a request") or via the Telegram bot: a public card with a number helps fellow soldiers and other families get in touch and confirm the circumstances.