Ukrainian parliament votes to cancel daylight saving time

The Ukrainian parliament voted on July 16 to cancel daylight saving time as part of a draft law on time calculation and calendar.

This means that Ukrainians will set their clocks back one hour for the last time on Oct. 27, 2024, and will not revert back to summer time next spring.

Many countries in Europe, North America, and elsewhere have adopted daylight saving time to make better use of longer daylight in summer. The clock is set forward by one hour in the spring and then reverted back in autumn.

The continued use of the practice has been hotly debated in the EU, and 84% of respondents polled in 2018 spoke in favor of its abolishment. While the European Parliament voted in 2021 to cancel the system, no final decision has been taken and the practice remains in use in much of Europe.

In spite of this, Ukrainian lawmakers presented the change as a step toward EU integration. The bill was backed by 261 votes but it still needs a presidential signature to become law.

The recently passed legislation was also meant to unify standards across Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and occupation.

While Ukraine belongs to the Eastern European time zone (UTC+2:00, or UTC+3:00 during summer time), Russia began to enforce the de facto use of Moscow Standard Time (UTC+3:00 without using daylight saving time) in the occupied territories.

After October this year, Ukraine will fix its time zone at UTC+2:00.

Children’s theater goes underground in Kharkiv

In the heart of Kharkiv, Kharkiv Theater for Children and Youth performs in bomb shelters under constant threats of Russian attacks. The Kyiv Independent visited one of the theater’s performances in late June to meet the dedicated actors and their no less dedicated audience.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Makarenko