Ukraine Extends Martial Law to Aug. 6

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on Wednesday to extend martial law until Aug. 6.

Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, in a Telegram update, said the extension bill was voted on with 346 in favor, one abstained and one against. Lawmakers Heorhiy Mazurashu abstained from the vote and Oleksii Honcharenko voted against. 

A day prior, President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted two bills to the Verkhovna Rada to extend martial law and general mobilization in the country.

Martial law extension is carried out via bill 13172 and mobilization via bill 13173. The bills were set to expire on May 9 and required the Verkhovna Rada’s approval to be effective.

Ukraine introduced martial law on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has now been extended 15 times, each time by 90 days. Ukraine also announced a general mobilization for the first time in modern Ukrainian history when the 2022 invasion broke out.

Martial law restricts certain civil rights, while granting the government extra powers to secure national interests.

Elections are prohibited by the Ukrainian Constitution during martial law, despite calls by some US politicians. The proposed extension of martial law also means elections are unlikely to take place this summer, despite recent rumors that they might take place if the US-brokered ceasefire progressed.

At present, curfews are in place across Ukraine during martial law, with hours that differ by region. The only exceptions are the Uzhhorod and Zakarpattia regions in western Ukraine, which do not have curfews in place. For Kyiv, curfews are in place between midnight and 5 a.m.

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During martial law, foreigners can still enter Ukraine with temporary or permanent residence permits that had expired after martial law was introduced. The permits will remain valid for another 30 days after martial law is canceled.

However, certain governmental services, such as car registrations, will be restricted if the permit has expired, since the system cannot register documents with a past expiration date.