KI logo
News Feed

Ukraine resumes live broadcasts of parliament sessions after over 3-year break

• 2 min read
Avatar
by Tim Zadorozhnyy
Ukraine resumes live broadcasts of parliament sessions after over 3-year break
A Ukrainian flag fluttering over the Verkhovna Rada building on Aug. 23, 2024. (Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)

The Ukrainian parliament held a plenary session on Sept. 16 that was broadcast live for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Parliament suspended live coverage of its plenary sessions after the full-scale invasion for security reasons, though committee meetings began airing again in January 2025.

Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on July 30 that broadcasts would resume once the security situation allowed, saying that parliament must remain "an open platform."

An exception was made on July 31, when parliament live-streamed a closely watched vote restoring the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies.

Several lawmakers, including Stefanchuk, submitted a draft resolution on Sept. 1 to restore plenary broadcasts, arguing that the current security environment permitted their return.

"The current security situation, given recent changes, in many cases allows broadcasts to resume without creating additional risks," the text read.

The parliament speaker signed the resolution on Sept. 9.

Ukraine's unicameral legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, has 450 seats with lawmakers elected for five-year terms under universal suffrage.

Elections have not been held since the start of the full-scale war due to martial law.

read also

After release from captivity, Russian POWs often ‘sent back to die’ in Ukraine
For Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), release from captivity can feel like escaping hell. But for Russian POWs, it might mean walking straight into another. Lengthy interrogations by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), criminal prosecution, and forced return to the front line are often what await Russian POWs after they return home, despite efforts from the Kremlin to disguise it. ”(Russian) propagandists film videos where the released POWs appear to be having fun on cue. But we under
The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko
UkraineParliamentWarRuslan StefanchukKyiv
Avatar
Tim Zadorozhnyy

Reporter

Tim Zadorozhnyy is the reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations and the European Studies program at Lazarski University, offered in partnership with Coventry University. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa in 2022. After relocating to Warsaw, he spent a year and a half with the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, initially as a news anchor and later as managing editor. Tim is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Read more

Most Popular

News Feed
Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers.

Russia confirmed that it had handed over 1,000 bodies to Ukraine under the Istanbul agreement in exchange for 38 bodies of fallen Russian soldiers, Kremlin-controlled news agency TASS reported on Jan. 29.

Wednesday, January 28
Video
Why Colombian volunteers are joining war in Ukraine.

Colombians, many shaped by decades of armed conflict at home, have become one of the largest groups of foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The Kyiv Independent's Jared Goyette speaks with a Colombian volunteer who spent two years fighting in Ukraine.

Show More

Editors' Picks