According to the bill passed by the Verkhovna Rada in July, Ukraine was supposed to switch to winter time (set the clocks back an hour) on the night of Sunday, October 27, and stay there (without returning to daylight saving time) — but the President has not yet signed the document and does not seem to plan to do so (the veto deadline has also passed).
This information was provided to the publication BBC an anonymous representative of the presidential team and an interlocutor from the presidential faction:
«The speaker is the protagonist, it is his idea, so in order not to offend him, there will be no veto, but there will be no signature».
The reason for abandoning the law? During the calculations, losses of several billion «were allegedly suddenly discovered.
The current Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk submitted a bill to abolish the time change back in 2020 and it was even approved in the first reading, but failed in the overall vote. At the second attempt in July 2024, the necessary votes were found:
«In the fall, we will switch to daylight saving time and stay there, i.e. UTC+2
The Ministry of Economy noted that winter time is natural for Ukraine and corresponds to its geographical location.
We’ve been moving the clocks back and forth since the Soviet Union — usually on weekends, so that the human body has time to adapt (although many studies have shown that changing the clocks causes people to lose sleep, and as a result, an increase in depression and cardiovascular disease).
Currently, about 60 countries change their clocks twice a year, most of them in Europe (the EU was supposed to change its time for the last time in 2021, but this reform has not yet been adopted), some parts of North America, Asia, and Oceania. At the same time, most countries in Africa, Asia, and South America do not switch to daylight saving time.
According to opinion polls, Ukrainians themselves have not reached a consensus on daylight saving time. A recent poll by the Research & Branding Group conducted in October 2021 showed that 42% approved of the idea of abandoning daylight saving time: however, 17% suggested abandoning daylight saving time, and 25% — winter time.