Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada is preparing a fundamentally new format for the parliament's work during air alerts. According to information disclosed by Member of Parliament Olga Vasilevska-Smaglyuk of the Servant of the People faction and confirmed by Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk at a faction meeting, Council sessions will no longer be automatically suspended when an air alert is declared. Deputies will be given 10 minutes to descend into prepared shelters, after which the parliament's work will continue in the normal mode, with voting carried out remotely via personal devices.
Infrastructure for 330 Deputies Is Already Ready
To implement the new format, extensive infrastructure preparation has already been carried out in the underground shelters beneath the Verkhovna Rada building. In particular, chairs have been installed for all 330 elected members, allowing the full composition of the parliament to be accommodated in a safe space. As designed by the organizers, this approach will eliminate situations in which prolonged air alerts led to repeated interruptions of the Council's work and the disruption of the legislative process.
Voting via QR Codes: How the Mechanism Will Work
The key element of the new format is remote voting. After descending into the shelter, each deputy will be able to continue working with their own tablet or smartphone. To access the voting system, parliamentarians will use personal QR codes, which open the corresponding page with draft resolutions. Thus, physical presence at the rostrum or in the voting hall ceases to be a mandatory condition for participating in the decision-making procedure. The mechanism preserves the legitimacy and transparency of voting, since each vote is tied to the deputy's personal identifier.
Testing to Begin in the Coming Days
Before the full implementation of the new working procedure, deputies will conduct a series of practical checks. As reported, in the coming days parliamentarians will descend into the shelters in groups of 20 to assess in practice the functionality of the voting system, the speed of access to the platform, and the overall organization of the process. The testing results will help identify possible technical failures and adjust the regulations before the new format is launched on a permanent basis.
Dual Alert Signal: "Yellow" and "Red" for Business
In addition to changes in the parliament's work, against the backdrop of prolonged air alerts in Kyiv, authorities are considering a revision of the approach to alerting commercial establishments. It is proposed to divide the alert into two levels: a "yellow" alert, declared during drone attacks, and a "red" signal, applied in the case of a missile threat. In the event of a "yellow" alert, establishments will have the right to decide for themselves whether to continue operating, while the "red" signal will require the mandatory cessation of activities. The initiative is aimed at reducing the economic losses of businesses while maintaining the safety of citizens.
