Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada does not plan to relocate but is preparing to hold sessions and votes in the parliament’s shelter during air raid alerts. Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said this on the We Are Ukraine television channel.
According to him, parliament will continue operating at 5 Hrushevskoho Street, and reports of a possible relocation are untrue.
“We are all staying at 5 Hrushevskoho Street. No one is moving anywhere. So I want to immediately dispel all the myths that the Verkhovna Rada is going to relocate,” Stefanchuk said.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary shelter is being equipped to allow lawmakers to continue voting even during air raid alerts. The necessary system has already been installed and is now being adapted and tested with the participation of MPs.
According to the speaker, the system must comply with the key requirements of the Verkhovna Rada’s rules of procedure. He noted that even some lawmakers who were initially skeptical of the arrangement viewed it positively after seeing how it works.
Stefanchuk also said that some parliamentary factions oppose the introduction of a backup voting system.
The speaker stressed that parliament must be able to operate regardless of how long air raid alerts last and make decisions crucial to Ukraine’s economic, financial, and security stability, as well as to supporting the Defense Forces.
