The question of whether Ukraine should finally abandon the seasonal clock change has been hanging in the air for several years. Despite active discussions in parliament and attempts to legislatively "freeze" time, the situation remains uncertain. An official conclusion has not yet been reached on this issue, which means one thing: Ukrainians will have to get used to changing time zones again.
A bill that never became law
An attempt to solve the problem of changing the hands once and for all was made back in the summer of 2024. Then, the people's deputies supported draft law No. 4201, which was supposed to regulate the procedure for calculating time in the country. The initiator of the document was the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The main goal of the bill was ambitious: to form clear legal norms and abandon the transition to daylight saving time. According to the authors' plan, a single winter time was to be fixed throughout the territory of Ukraine, which would make further seasonal "jumps" of the hands impossible. According to the final provisions, the new rules were to come into force the day after the official publication of the law.
However, the process got stuck at the final stage. The document voted on by the deputies was sent for signature to the President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on August 21, 2024. As of June 10, 2026, the head of state's signature on this document is still missing.
The old 1996 decree is in effect
Due to the lack of approval of the new law, the previous regulatory act continues to operate in the state — the government decree No. 509 "On the procedure for calculating time on the territory of Ukraine" dated May 13, 1996. Since the legislative base has not changed, in the autumn of 2026 Ukrainians will have to switch to winter time again.
The Cabinet of Ministers' decree stipulates that the country lives by the time of the second time zone (Kyiv time), but with a mandatory annual adjustment. Consequently, to switch to winter time, the clock hands will need to be turned back by 1 hour on Sunday, October 25.
The exact time of the time change is the night from Saturday to Sunday (from October 24 to 25) at 4:00. This means that at the specified time, 3:00 will arrive in the country, and residents will get an extra hour of sleep, but the usual rhythm of life will be disrupted again.
Why this is important
Constant fluctuations in time affect not only transport schedules and office work, but also people's biological rhythms. It has already been reported how changing the clocks affects the health and well-being of citizens. Until the legislators reach a consensus and the president signs the new law, Ukrainians will be forced to adapt to these changes annually.