Legal Tactic or Legitimate Claim? Mobilization Spurs Custody Cases
Ukrainian men are increasingly turning to the courts to officially establish that they are raising a child on their own — a status that may provide deferment from military service and the ability to leave the country.
According to Opendatabot, the number of lawsuits filed by fathers seeking legal recognition of sole custody of a minor child has increased 67-fold since the start of the full-scale war.
At least 1,255 such cases have been recorded in Ukraine’s judicial register since February 2022, with 400 already reviewed this year alone. The number of cases continues to grow each year.
In 2022, there were only 37 cases. By 2023, that number had increased fivefold to 180. Between January and May 2022, just six such cases were filed — compared to 400 in the same period of 2025, which is also 3.1 times more than during the same timeframe in 2024. In 2024, courts reviewed 625 such cases. This year’s figures are expected to surpass that.
It is worth noting that a father's status as the sole caretaker of a child temporarily exempts him from mobilization and allows him to travel abroad — something that remains restricted for men aged 18 to 60 in wartime Ukraine.
“There is a myth that a court ruling on divorce or confirming that a child lives with the father is enough. In reality, it's not,” explained Talina Kravtsova, a lawyer with the Asters law firm. “In such situations, the court must legally confirm that the father is raising and financially supporting the child on his own.”
She added that the official status of a single father comes with significant social benefits and protections in Ukraine, including paid leave, monthly state assistance, enhanced tax benefits, draft deferment, and priority access to housing and daycare placements.
However, due to concerns about misuse of this legal route to evade mobilization, courts and government agencies are now scrutinizing such cases more closely during wartime. This may make it harder for men who genuinely qualify for single-father status to obtain it.
