A war is something of a crash-test for democratic institutions. It requires determined, agile and rapid efforts by the executive branch of power and, in particular, by its security services. The Russian war against Ukraine is an extreme case – a massive attack by a global military power seeking to expand its territory. There is no precedent since 1945. The Russian war effort includes conventional military means, as well as cyberwarfare and systematic influence operations. As the war is taking place on Ukrainian territory, it puts a maximum strain on the country’s ability to maintain democratic institutions, which are premised on stability, deliberation and transparency.

International law accepts that, during time of war, human rights and democratic institutions may be curtailed, but only as necessary and up to a point. The declaration of martial law by Presidential Decree 64/2022, on 24 February 2022, confirmed by the parliament (Law of Ukraine of 24 February 2022 No. 2102) did, indeed, include a list of human rights restrictions. The Ukrainian government duly communicated these restrictions of obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) to the United Nations.

Democracy is, in many ways, at the heart of the war. Ever since Ukrainians decided to make their country more democratic, in the Maidan revolution of 2014, and to freely choose its own foreign policy direction, the Russian government has responded with warfare. The full-scale Russian invasion of 24 February 2022 marked only the latest step of in escalation of a war the Kremlin had launched in 2014.

A poll in August 2022 found that 95 per cent of Ukrainians believe that it is very important that Ukraine becomes a fully functioning democracy. So far, the three branches of power in Ukraine remain functional, even though the battle to restore the country’s
territorial sovereignty has been continuing in different forms for almost nine years.

During the conference “Preserving and Developing Ukraine’s Democracy: What are the Current and the Future Challenges of Democratic Transformation?”, organised by Democracy Reporting International, the Center of Policy and Legal Reform, and the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, on 21 September 2022 in Kyiv, Ukrainian and international experts and decision-makers took stock of what has changed in Ukraine under martial law.

This paper builds on that conference’s outcomes and develops some issues further. It focuses on key democratic institutions, without offering a wider appreciation of developments in Ukrainian society and its attitudes. It is important to note that not all of the changes listed below present threats to Ukrainian democracy, but they need to be monitored, nonetheless.

This publication was produced by Democracy Reporting International, Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition and Center of Policy and Legal Reform.