Father of two whose wife died could not return home for nearly two months after mobilization — ombudsman

Dmytro Lubyntsev, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, wrote in his Telegram channel about a case where the mobilization system effectively left minor children without their only parent. According to him, the mother of two children, aged 4 and 6, passed away, and the father was raising them alone. However, in May 2026, the man was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Consequently, the children lived with their grandmother for nearly two months, experiencing stress and waiting for their father's return, as emphasized by the ombudsman.

Mobilization of a single father and prolonged discharge

As Lubyntsev reported, as early as June, the father submitted a report requesting discharge from military service due to family circumstances. He had legal grounds for this — two minor children whose mother had died. Nevertheless, the consideration of the report was unjustifiably delayed: the man was transferred from one military unit to another, which prevented the completion of the discharge procedure and his return to his children. In the ombudsman's assessment, the children in this situation became "hostages of the system".

Ombudsman's intervention and the father's return home

The Children's Service at the family's place of residence appealed to the ombudsman: officials could not independently establish contact with the military unit and obtain explanations. Lubyntsev opened a case and repeatedly appealed to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine demanding a resolution. Only after about two months was the father discharged from military service and returned to his children. The ombudsman emphasized that the state mobilization system should operate routinely, without the need for intervention by the Commissioner for Human Rights, and called the incident another evidence of the consequences of, in his words, a "failed reform" by the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense.

Systemic context: complaints about TCC actions across the country

The reported case is not isolated. Previously, RBC-Ukraine reported that in the Cherkasy region, a number of human rights violations by TCC workers were recorded: in particular, a man with a legal deferment was detained and taken about 140 km from home. In the Odesa region, according to the publication, a so-called "sad leadership" has formed regarding the number of complaints about TCC actions — since the beginning of 2026, 453 complaint appeals have been received by the Ombudsman's Office. A separate incident was recorded in Dnipro: a 17-year-old orphan girl was waiting for her guardian, who was detained by TCC representatives and sent for general military training, effectively leaving the minor without a guardian.

Contradictory data

In open sources, several similar episodes involving single fathers appear in parallel, which may create confusion regarding figures and children's ages. In the main version cited by RBC-Ukraine from Lubyntsev, the case concerns children aged 4 and 6 whose mother died, and mobilization in May 2026. At the same time, a publication by Focus.ua describes another, separate case — the mobilization of a single father in Kryvyi Rih who was left with a 5-year-old daughter. These facts relate to different families and regions and do not contradict each other in essence; however, when citing, it is important not to mix the children's ages and geographical locations from different materials. Furthermore, quantitative assessments of the scale of the problem (for example, Lubyntsev's statement that mobilization is conducted with procedural violations in 90% of cases, according to TASS) are the ombudsman's assessment and are not confirmed by an independent audit by the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Practical conclusion: timely registration of deferments

Concluding the story, Lubyntsev reminded of the critical importance of timely preparation of documents confirming the right to deferment from mobilization. His position boils down to the fact that even with legal grounds (minor children, death of a spouse), without properly prepared documents and the operational work of the TCC and military units, a person can remain in the system for months, and children — without a parent. The reported case demonstrates that without external pressure from the ombudsman, the procedure for discharge due to family circumstances can be delayed for an unjustified period.