Government budget, vacations for service members, and changes in the Cabinet

07 November 2022
Government budget, vacations for service members, and changes in the Cabinet
Home > Monitoring > Government budget, vacations for service members, and changes in the Cabinet

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted the government budget 2023 and supported in the first reading stricter punishment for torture and vacations for service members. 

Government budget 2023 

Draft bill # 8000 of September 14, 2022 

Status: adopted as a law, awaits to be signed by the President. 

Who is affected: the President, the Cabinet, the Parliament, ministries, local governments, civil servants, law enforcement agencies, prosecution, courts, Ukrainian citizens, and businesses. 

Summary of the bill: 

  • the government budget balance for 2023: revenue — 1.3 trillion, spending — 2.6 trillion 
  • the largest share of spending is allocated for security and defense: 1.14 trillion (almost 44% of the government budget) 
  • 37.5 bln will be allocated for the Fund for liquidating consequences of the armed aggression, 71 bln — for the Road Fund 
  • the projection for inflation is 28%, for GDP increase — 3.2%. 

Why this is important: government budget is the country’s most important fiscal document. It is a projection on how much money the country will have, how this money will it spend, and reflects the priorities of the Cabinet for the next year. 

Additional information: the government budget 2023 was adopted on November 4. No government budget was adopted this early in the history of Ukraine before. 

Voted in favor: factions Servant of the People (211), Platform for Life and Peace (18), Trust (16), For the Future (15), Restoration of Ukraine (15), and Holos (10). 

Right to vacation during martial law for service members 

Draft bill # 8081 of September 28, 2022 

Status: adopted in the first reading. MPs can still amend the bill. 

Who is affected: service members, their families, and military command. 

Summary of the bill: service members will be able to take vacations up to 10 calendar days (travel time not included although restricted to no more than 2 days one-way) while martial law is in force. Currently, a vacation can be granted only in cases of family emergencies or other lawful grounds. 

What is right: 

  • improvement in the physical and moral state of service members who will be able to spend time with their families during vacations 
  • better motivation for the military. 

Voted in favor: factions Servant of the People (216), European Solidarity (20), Holos (15), Restoration of Ukraine (15), Platform for Life and Peace (14), Trust (14), Batkivshchyna (13), and For the Future (12). 

Stricter penalties for torture 

Draft bill # 5336 of April 5, 2021 

Status: adopted in the first reading. MPs can still amend the bill. 

Who is affected: detectives, prosecutors, judges, employees of law enforcement agencies, torture victims, criminals, suspects, and defendants. 

Summary of the bill: 

  • more severe penalties for torture will be introduced: torture will be recognized as a grave offense. This will affect court considerations, service of sentence, and possibilities of early release 
  • torture by a representative of a state, including a foreign state, will be punished by imprisonment from 7 to 12 years and a restriction to occupy certain positions for up to 3 years 
  • the bill prohibits indemnifying persons representing a state who were found guilty of torture. 

What is right: 

  • Ukrainian legislation will be compliant with the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 
  • improvement in the standards of human rights protection. Human rights activists claim that there is a persistent problem with torture in detention centers and prisons. 

Voted in favor: factions Servant of the People (199), European Solidarity (17), Platform for Life and Peace (15), Restoration of Ukraine (15), Trust (14), Holos (12), Batkivshchyna (11), and For the Future (11). 

Dismissal of the Minister for Communities and Territories Development 

Draft resolution # 8173 of November 3, 2022 

Status: passed as a law. 

Who is affected: the Cabinet, local governments, territorial communities, housing cooperatives, property developers, and architects. 

Summary of the resolution: Oleksiy Chernyshov was dismissed as the Minister for Communities and Territories Development. 

What’s next: 

  • Vasyl Lozynskyi, the first deputy minister, was appointed as the Acting Minister for Communities and Territories Development 
  • Oleksiy Chernyshov was appointed as the Chairperson of Naftogaz 
  • according to the media, it is possible that the Cabinet will consolidate the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and the Ministry of Infrastructure. Such consolidation will have negative consequences for Ukraine.