While there has been some discussion about the nature of Ukrainian democracy after the war, little is being said about democracy during the war. What happens now will, however, influence what happens after the war. A major war is a serious stress test for any democratising country.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine did not end Ukrainian democracy. While, democratic rights have been curtailed under martial law, as is justifiable under international law in the context of a massive emergency, Ukraine’s democratic institutions continue to function.

During the conference “Preserving and Developing Ukraine’s Democracy: What are the Current and the Future Challenges of Democratic Transformation?”, organised by Democracy Reporting International, the Center of Policy and Legal Reform, and the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, on 21 September 2022 in Kyiv, Ukrainian and international experts and decision-makers took stock of what has changed in Ukraine under martial law.

This paper builds on that conference’s outcomes and develops some issues further. It focuses on key democratic institutions, without offering a wider appreciation of developments in Ukrainian society and its attitudes. It is important to note that not all of the changes listed below present threats to Ukrainian democracy, but they need to be monitored, nonetheless.