Politics of Ukraine

Politics of Ukraine

Державний лад України (Ukrainian)
Derzhavnyy lad Ukrayiny (Romanization)
Coat of arms of Ukraine
Polity typeUnitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
ConstitutionConstitution of Ukraine
Formation24 August 1991 (independence)
28 June 1996 (constitution in force)
Legislative branch
NameVerkhovna Rada
TypeUnicameral
Meeting placeVerkhovna Rada Building, Kyiv
Executive branch
Head of state
TitlePresident
CurrentlyVolodymyr Zelenskyy
AppointerDirect popular vote
Head of government
TitlePrime Minister
CurrentlyDenys Shmyhal
AppointerVerkhovna Rada
Cabinet
NameGovernment of Ukraine
Current cabinetShmyhal Government
AppointerVerkhovna Rada
Ministries19
Judicial branch
NameJudiciary of Ukraine
Constitutional Court
Chief judgeNataliya Shaptala
Seat14 Zhylianska St., Kyiv
Supreme Court
Chief judgeYaroslav Romanyuk

The politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic and a multi-party system. A Cabinet of Ministers exercises executive power (jointly with the president until 1996). Legislative power is vested in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада, lit.'Supreme Council').

As part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic until 1991, the political system featured a single-party socialist-republic framework characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU), the sole-governing party then permitted by the Ukrainian SSR's constitution. In 1996, the current constitution replaced the previous constitution that was introduced in 1978.

The widely condemned Russian annexations of Crimea in 2014, and of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2022 have complicated the de facto political situation associated with those areas.