Wartime Governance
Martial law, a centralized presidency, and a changing cabinet — governing Ukraine at war.
Martial law and the suspended elections
On 24 February 2022 Zelenskyy declared martial law and general mobilization. Ukraine’s constitution and martial-law legislation prohibit national elections while martial law is in effect; the Verkhovna Rada has repeatedly voted to extend it, most recently into 2026. Zelenskyy’s presidential term, which began 20 May 2019, therefore continues under these provisions. The arrangement is a legal fact of the wartime constitutional order — debated by critics, but not a matter of this reference to adjudicate. See Public Record.
The centralized presidency
Wartime decision-making has visibly centered on the Office of the President, headed since February 2020 by Andriy Yermak — Zelenskyy’s closest aide, present in the 26 February 2022 “We are here” video and at the head of negotiating delegations since. The concentration of wartime authority in the presidency follows the logic of martial law; its extent is a subject of ongoing Ukrainian political debate.
Cabinet changes
- March 2020: Denys Shmyhal replaces Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister, months before the war; Shmyhal serves through July 2025.
- September 2023: Rustem Umerov replaces Oleksii Reznikov as defence minister.
- February 2024: Oleksandr Syrsky replaces Valerii Zaluzhny as Commander-in-Chief — the most significant wartime military change.
- September 2024: a wider reshuffle includes the departure of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
- July 2025: Yuliia Svyrydenko replaces Shmyhal as prime minister.
Mobilization
The 2022 general mobilization was repeatedly extended; in April 2024 a new mobilization law lowered the draft age and tightened enforcement. Mobilization policy — its fairness, its reach — has been among the most contested domestic issues of the war, and is recorded here without assessment.
Anti-corruption
Wartime Ukraine has seen a rolling anti-corruption drive: dismissals of officials, investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), and the 2023 replacement of the defence minister amid procurement scandals. In July 2025, legislation curbing the independence of NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office prompted public protests and international concern; the provisions were subsequently reversed. The episode is recorded as reported by Reuters, AP, and Ukrainian press.
The home front
Beyond Kyiv’s government quarter, wartime governance has meant air-raid governance: curfews, blackout schedules during the energy-infrastructure campaigns, and the continued operation of schools, hospitals, and the Diia digital-government platform under fire. The civilian experience is documented by Ukrainian and international reporting; this reference does not attempt its full history.
Source notes
- Martial law: presidential decrees; Verkhovna Rada extension votes, 2022–2026.
- Elections under martial law: Constitution of Ukraine; Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law.”
- Cabinet changes: presidential decrees; Verkhovna Rada votes, 2020–2025.
- Mobilization law: Verkhovna Rada, April 2024.
- NABU episode: Reuters, AP, Ukrainian press, July 2025.
- Photograph: CC BY-SA 4.0; see sources.