Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, may soon pass a law to recognize and honor MPs (people’s deputies) who contributed to the establishment of an independent Ukraine.
If passed, draft law no. 6493 is set to instil special privileges upon those who voted for historic decisions on Ukraine’s statehood. Such honors would include social protection guarantees, diplomatic passports, the right to be received by the President of Ukraine and other senior officials in government, and lifetime financial support. Privileges would be established for life and could be granted posthumously.
Founders in this context refer to individuals associated with the proclamation of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine on July 16, 1990, the adoption of the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR, and the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine on Aug. 24, 1991.
Olena Shuliak, leader of the Servant of the People Party, commented to Kyiv Post that “we expect to see [the draft law] on the agenda for the second half of November.”
The bill was originally registered in parliament in 2021 by People’s Deputy Ruslan Stefanchuk, now speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
The delay is understood to be due to the “special status” element, notably that the Constitution of Ukraine (Article 24) asserts that power derives exclusively from the people and that all citizens have equal constitutional rights and freedoms.
Other concerns raised by various parties to date include the right to be received by the President of Ukraine (a privilege that even current high-ranking officials do not have); and whether the law would safeguard against former communist officials being granted honors.
Authors of recent amendments say the final version will comply with both the Constitution and the law prohibiting the KPU.
“It will not conflict, at least in the version prepared for the second reading. The ban on the KPU does not apply to people who were members during the Soviet era. At that time, the party had three million members, and no Ukrainian law or court ruling considers them offenders,” Volodymyr Vyatrovych, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy and the Interparliamentary group with the US, told Kyiv Post.
“As for any misconduct by individual deputies of the first convocation after independence, draft law No. 6493, with my and other amendments incorporated, includes clear safeguards to prevent such individuals from receiving honorary status,” Vyatrovych added.
Despite certain legal conflicts and comments on the text, there were no votes against the law in its first reading in July 2025.
Shuliak emphasized that, at that time, it was a matter of “adopting the bill as a basis with further refinement of the provisions.” In other words, it was planned that most of the comments would be addressed before the final vote.
On Oct. 29, the relevant committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the draft into law. At the time of writing, a date for the second reading is yet to be set.