For almost a year and a half, Nina Resol confirmed through the court the fact of living together with her common-law husband, who died in the Donetsk region. Only after this was she able to obtain the status of a family member of a deceased serviceman. Yuri Melnichuk and Nina Rezol lived together for 17 years, 13 of which lived under one roof in the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region. In April 2024, the man was mobilized into the 3rd mechanized battalion of military unit A4773. When Yuri joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he personally indicated Nina as his wife on his military ID. On June 26, 2024, Yuri Melnichuk went missing in a battle in the Pokrovsky direction. When Nina contacted the TCC and the military unit, they refused to provide any information about her husband’s disappearance. This decision was argued by the fact that the woman is not an official member of the family according to the Family Code.
“The TCC representative did not serve me with a missing persons notice because I was not a family member as required by law. In response to all my requests to search for Yuri, everywhere I was refused to receive any information about Yuri, on the grounds that I am “nobody” and have no right to receive any information or documents on the military man. Of course, I was shocked that they didn’t want to give me information about the disappearance and death of my husband, so I went to court to protect my rights,” Nina shared.
Later it became known that the defender died. Despite this, government authorities continued to consider Nina an outsider, so it was impossible for the woman to obtain status, payments or benefits. Lawyer Yulia Lets took the case for free and filed a lawsuit in order to legally confirm the fact of cohabitation and recognize Nina as a member of the family of the deceased.
The consideration of the case lasted about a year and a half. The court took into account the absence of other marriages, living together, a common budget and financial documents, powers of attorney, certificates from neighbors and an entry in military documents where Yuri indicated Nina as his wife.
The Boryspil city district court of the Kyiv region recognized Nina Rezol as a member of the family of the deceased and confirmed her right to appropriate payments and benefits.
Lawyers advise to formalize an official marriage before mobilization or at least before being sent to a combat zone. If it is not possible to formalize the marriage physically, you can use the online service in the "
In addition, those living in a de facto marital relationship should keep supporting documents of joint expenses, ensure that residential addresses match, and do not hesitate to assert their rights in court.