Section
Understanding Society
The institutions, economy and social trends behind the news.
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Still Built on a 1993 Law, as the Number Passes 1.3 Million: Ukraine’s War Veterans
The foundation of Ukraine's system of support for war veterans is a law enacted in 1993, two years after the Soviet collapse. The government's own strategy says that veterans, the families of the fallen, and people disabled by the war together number more than 1.3 million, and admits the old law no longer fits reality. This article covers the support available under “combatant” status and the review under way as of September 2026.
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Even After Public Broadcasting Pulled Out, Ukraine’s “United News” Continues on State Funding
The month after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the National Security and Defense Council decided to merge the country's news television channels into a single round-the-clock program, “United News.” Even after public broadcasting withdrew in 2024, the program has continued on the state budget. In its 2025 report, the European Commission called for it to be reviewed no later than when martial law is lifted.
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Ten of Fifteen Members Gone: How Ukraine’s Judicial Reform Began with a Council in Crisis
When the EU granted Ukraine candidate status, the first two conditions concerned the judiciary: remaking, with the involvement of international experts, the council that appoints judges, the commission that selects them, and the way Constitutional Court justices are chosen. This article follows the process from a 2021 law to the European Commission's 2025 report.
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Over 75,000 Women Now Serve in Ukraine’s Armed Forces; Registration Is Mandatory Only in Medicine
Ukrainian law allows women to serve on the same terms as men and limits wartime call-up to those who volunteer. Mandatory military registration for women has been rewritten three times in four years since 2021, and now applies only to women with a medical or pharmaceutical qualification. This article lays out the figures the Ministry of Defense and others have announced, each with its date and source.
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UNITED24 Has Raised $3.9 Billion, Over 90% of It Going to a Defense Account
UNITED24, the Ukrainian government's donation platform, shows it has raised about $3.93 billion between May 2022 and September 18, 2026. The money goes into one of six accounts at the National Bank of Ukraine by category, spent by the responsible ministry. This article looks at the Cabinet resolution behind it, the disclosure mechanism, and the inflow and spending figures in the reports.
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Galicia (Halychyna), Podilia, Slobozhanshchyna: Historical Region Names Beyond the Oblasts
Galicia (Halychyna), Volhynia, Bukovina, Donbas: region names that appear often in articles about Ukraine are distinct from the oblasts defined by the constitution. This article tables which present-day oblasts each one overlaps with, the origin of the name, regions that straddle borders, and land under occupation, based on the entries of an encyclopedia from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.
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Kyiv Is 7 Hours Behind Japan, 6 in Summer: Ukraine’s Time and Daylight Saving
Under a 1996 Cabinet resolution, Ukraine moves its clocks on the last Sundays of March and October. The time difference with Japan is 7 hours in winter and 6 in summer. A law passed in 2024 to abolish daylight saving time has not been signed as of September 2026. This article also looks at how Ukraine broke from Moscow time in 1990, and at the clocks used in occupied territory.
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Ukrainian Sign Language Is a “Language” in Law — But Has No Law of Its Own Yet
The 2019 State Language Law defines Ukrainian Sign Language as a natural language with its own vocabulary and grammar, and enshrines the right of anyone to use it, learn it, and be educated in it. Yet the dedicated law meant to define the status of sign language has not been enacted, and a July 2026 survey found sign-language interpretation on only 2 of 36 national television channels.
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31 Letters, Including Q, Ñ and Ğ: The Latin Alphabet for Crimean Tatar
On September 22, 2021, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers established a 31-letter Latin alphabet for the Crimean Tatar language and called for school education to switch to it by September 1, 2025. This article traces the history of being forced to change scripts — from Arabic to Latin to Cyrillic — and contrasts it with occupied Crimea, where Russian law imposes Cyrillic.
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Becquerels, Sieverts, Per Hour and Per Year — the Units Behind Nuclear Plant News
The IAEA regularly states that radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain normal. This article sets out the difference between becquerels, grays, and sieverts, how per-hour and per-year figures relate to each other, the older units — curies and bers — that still appear in Ukrainian law, and how to tell what an IAEA statement is actually reporting and whose information it is based on.