Court orders TRC to remove transgender woman from military register
Court orders TRC to remove transgender woman from military register. Photo: sud.ua
The Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court has ordered a Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) to remove a transgender woman from the military register, ruling that its refusal was unlawful and discriminatory, the Judicial and Legal Newspaper reports.
In June 2026, the plaintiff applied to the TRC to be removed from the register of persons liable for military service, presenting a medical certificate confirming her gender transition and a new passport identifying her as female.
However, the TRC rejected the request, arguing that gender reassignment is not explicitly listed in Ukrainian law as grounds for removal from the military register. It also required the plaintiff to undergo an examination by a military medical commission. The TRC maintained that legally changing one's identity documents does not automatically revoke a previously established status as a person liable for military service.
The court rejected the TRC's arguments, noting that Ukrainian law requires only women with medical or pharmaceutical qualifications to register for military service. The plaintiff had no such qualifications and had not volunteered to serve.
The judges also emphasized that the absence of a specific legal provision does not justify applying rules governing men to a woman. They found that the plaintiff was entitled to have her legal status recognized consistently by all government authorities and characterized the TRC's actions as direct discrimination.
"This creates a situation in which one part of the state recognizes her as a woman, while another continues to treat her as a man, creating an internal contradiction and directly violating the principle of legitimate expectations," the ruling stated.
The court consequently overturned the TRC's refusal and ordered the plaintiff's removal from the military register.
As the UOJ previously reported, Ukraine's Supreme Court clarified that current legislation does not provide for replacing military service with alternative civilian service on religious grounds.
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