What Martial Law in Ukraine Does, and Does Not, Stop

On 24 February 2022, the day Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, President Zelensky signed Decree No. 64/2022: “Martial law is introduced in Ukraine for 30 days, from 5:30 a.m. that day.” The Verkhovna Rada (parliament) approved this the same day, by Law No. 2102-IX. Since then, martial law has been extended 20 times. The most recent extension is Presidential Decree No. 596/2026 of 13 July 2026 (approved the next day, 14 July, by Law No. 4928-IX), for 90 days from 5:30 a.m. on 2 August 2026 — which works out to 5:30 a.m. on 31 October.

Hearing “martial law,” you might picture everything grinding to a halt. Ukrainian law does not describe it that way. A presidential decree lists which rights may be restricted; a law lists which measures may be taken; and the constitution lists which rights must not be restricted even under martial law. This article walks through all three, following the text of the law. Every article cited reflects the current version in the Verkhovna Rada’s legislation database (zakon.rada.gov.ua) as of 23 September 2026.

Who decides, and who approves

Article 106, paragraph 1, item 20 of the Constitution of Ukraine makes deciding to introduce martial law, in accordance with law, a power of the President. The Verkhovna Rada approves the President’s decree within 2 days (Article 85, paragraph 1, item 31).

The details of the procedure are set out in the Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” (12 May 2015, No. 389-VIII; hereafter the Martial Law Act). The proposal comes from the National Security and Defense Council (Article 5, paragraph 1), and the President seeks the Verkhovna Rada’s approval immediately upon issuing the decree (paragraph 2 of the same article). The Verkhovna Rada convenes within 2 days without waiting to be summoned (paragraph 4). The decree is promulgated together with the approving law and takes effect at the same time as that law (paragraph 6). Extensions follow the same form, with an approving law made for each extension decree.

Article 1 of the Martial Law Act defines martial law as a special legal regime introduced “when there is a threat of armed aggression or attack” and similar situations, and lists two things it involves: giving state bodies, the armed forces, military administrations, and local governments the powers they need, and temporarily restricting constitutional rights and freedoms, in proportion to the threat and for an explicitly stated period.

On 24 February 2022, general mobilization was also proclaimed, by a separate decree, No. 65/2022 (approved on 3 March by Law No. 2105-IX). Mobilization has been extended alongside martial law, most recently by Decree No. 597/2026, for 90 days from 2 August 2026. Martial law and mobilization are, legally, separate regimes.

The 12 articles that may be restricted

Article 6 of the Martial Law Act requires the martial-law decree to include “an exhaustive list of the constitutional rights and freedoms temporarily restricted.” Paragraph 3 of Decree No. 64/2022 lists Articles 30 through 34, 38, 39, 41 through 44, and 53 of the constitution.

Constitutional article	Content
Article 30	Inviolability of the home
Article 31	Privacy of correspondence
Article 32	Non-interference in private and family life; prohibition on collecting personal data without consent
Article 33	Freedom of movement, free choice of residence, and the right to freely leave Ukraine
Article 34	Freedom of thought and speech; the right to gather and disseminate information
Article 38	The right to participate in governance and referenda, and to elect and be elected
Article 39	The right to peaceful assembly and demonstration
Article 41	The right to property
Article 42	Freedom of enterprise
Article 43	The right to work
Article 44	The right to strike
Article 53	The right to education

Some of these articles are written, even in peacetime, with martial law in mind. Article 41 requires full compensation in advance for the compulsory expropriation of private property, but allows expropriation with full compensation afterward “only under conditions of war or a state of emergency.” Article 43 prohibits forced labor while providing that labor required by law during war or a state of emergency does not count as forced labor. Article 33 also includes a clause that a citizen may never be deprived of the right to return to Ukraine.

The measures the law permits

Within the scope of rights that may be restricted, what can actually be done? Article 8, paragraph 1 of the Martial Law Act lists the measures the military command may take, together with military administrations or, in addition, executive bodies and local governments (some items have been deleted, and others added). Here are the ones that directly touch daily life.

• Curfew hours (banning being on the street or in public places at night or other set times without a special pass), and the introduction of blackout measures (item 5)
• A special regime for entry and exit, and restrictions on the movement of citizens and foreigners and on vehicle traffic (item 6)
• Checking identity documents and, where necessary, inspecting belongings, vehicles, and homes (item 7)
• Banning peaceful assemblies, demonstrations, and other large-scale gatherings (item 8)
• Regulating the operations of telecommunications operators, publishers, and broadcasters (item 11)
• Introducing a labor obligation for work related to national defense and similar (item 2)
• Compulsory expropriation of private and public property (item 4)
• Evacuating the population (item 19), and introducing rationing of essential goods (item 20)
• Detaining citizens of a state attacking Ukraine (item 23)

This is why curfew hours differ from place to place. Under the procedure set out in Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 573 (8 July 2020), a curfew is introduced by an order of the military command or a military administration, and that order sets the hours and the area covered. There is no single uniform curfew across all of Ukraine.

There are also limits on expropriation. Article 23 of the Martial Law Act requires full compensation afterward for expropriation not compensated in advance, and provides that if expropriated property still exists after martial law is lifted, the original owner may seek its return through the courts.

What is banned during martial law

Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Martial Law Act bans the following during martial law: amending the constitution; amending the constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; presidential elections, Verkhovna Rada elections, elections to the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and local elections; national and local referenda; and strikes and large-scale assemblies or actions.

This article is the direct basis for why no elections have been held in Ukraine since 2022. How the terms of the President and the Verkhovna Rada are handled is covered in detail in what Ukraine’s President, Verkhovna Rada, and Cabinet of Ministers each decide.

Conversely, the law also states what must not be stopped. Article 10, paragraph 1 provides that during martial law the powers of the President, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the National Bank, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Accounting Chamber, the courts, and the prosecutor’s office, among others, cannot be terminated. Article 26 provides that justice is administered only by the courts, bans shortening or expediting any form of judicial procedure, and does not allow the creation of special or emergency courts.

Rights that cannot be restricted even under martial law

Article 64, paragraph 2 of the constitution, while allowing rights to be restricted under martial law or a state of emergency, expressly states that the rights under the following articles cannot be restricted: Article 24 (equality before the law), Article 25 (the right not to be deprived of citizenship), Article 27 (life), Article 28 (dignity; the prohibition of torture and cruel treatment), Article 29 (personal liberty), Article 40 (the right to petition public bodies), Article 47 (the right to housing), Article 51 (marriage and family), Article 52 (equality of children), Article 55 (protection of rights through the courts), Article 56 (compensation for damage from the unlawful exercise of public authority), Article 57 (the right to know one’s rights and duties), Article 58 (non-retroactivity of law), Article 59 (the right to a defense), Article 60 (the right not to obey a manifestly criminal order), Article 61 (prohibition of double punishment), Article 62 (presumption of innocence), and Article 63 (the right to refuse to testify against oneself or family).

The Martial Law Act likewise confirms this list in Article 20, paragraph 2, and Article 22 states again that the introduction of martial law is not grounds for torture or degrading treatment.

Restrictions on rights are also disclosed abroad. Paragraph 7 of Decree No. 64/2022 and Article 24 of the Martial Law Act require notifying states parties, through the UN Secretary-General, of the extent of and reasons for derogating from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The same notification instruction appears in every extension decree as well.

Men aged 18 to 60, and the border

The restriction on Ukrainian men leaving the country under martial law is not written as a single sentence in the Martial Law Act.

Crossing the border is governed by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 57 (27 January 1995), “Rules for the Crossing of the State Border by Citizens of Ukraine.” The rules list, item by item, who has the right to cross the border when a state of emergency or martial law is introduced: people with disabilities and an accompanying family member (item 2-1), people not subject to call-up for mobilization (item 2-6), and people with an occupational reason such as seafarers or aviation personnel (items 2-12 and 2-13), among others.

These rules were amended by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1031 of 26 August 2025. The new item 2-19 states that the restriction on crossing the border under martial law “does not apply to male citizens aged 18 to 22 inclusive” (excluding those listed in item 2-14, such as senior government officials). The same amendment also replaced “18” with “23” in several exception items, so that, in the rules as they stand on 23 September 2026, those items now cover “men aged 23 to 60.”

The Martial Law Act itself, meanwhile, also gained a provision concerning men, through an amendment in April 2024. Article 20, paragraph 4 requires male citizens aged 18 to 60 to carry their military-registration documents and identity documents, and to show them when asked by staff of a territorial recruitment and social support center, a police officer, or a border guard officer.

The effect on Ukrainian men abroad

The same Article 20 also concerns procedures for people abroad. Per paragraph 5, consular procedures at a diplomatic mission abroad are not carried out for a male citizen aged 18 to 60 who has not updated their personal data (military-registration information) by the deadline set by law, unless it is done together with that update. Exceptions to this condition are issuing a document for returning to Ukraine, procedures for a child with a foreign-national parent, and procedures for someone detained abroad. Paragraph 6 states that when a domestic or foreign-travel passport is produced at an overseas office of a state enterprise under the State Migration Service, a man aged 18 to 60 likewise needs his military-registration document.

This article cannot determine which conditions apply to a Ukrainian living in Japan who needs to go through these procedures. Check with the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan.

Oblast and raion administrations become military administrations

Martial law also changed the shape of local administration. Presidential Decree No. 68/2022 (24 February 2022) turned the oblast (city) state administrations of the 24 oblasts and the city of Kyiv into oblast (city) military administrations, with their heads becoming the heads of the military administrations. Raion state administrations likewise became raion military administrations. Per Article 4 of the Martial Law Act, military administrations exercise their powers for the duration of martial law and for 30 days after it ends.

In areas where a municipal council or head cannot carry out their duties, a settlement military administration is installed, and, if the Verkhovna Rada so decides, its head exercises the powers of the council and the head (Article 4, paragraph 3; Article 10, paragraph 2). Because elections are banned, local councils likewise are not re-elected until martial law ends.