The authorities are preparing to legalize perpetual martial law: Ukrainians risk life without a Constitution and freedom even after the war

Even after the end of the war in Ukraine, citizens should not expect the restoration of constitutional rights and freedoms.

This was stated by Verkhovna Rada deputy Roman Kostenko, effectively confirming that martial law and mobilization are not going to be lifted.

Kostenko openly said there will be no return to normal life “like in 2021.” According to him, the authorities intend to keep the country under emergency measures, citing the ongoing threat from Russia.

“For example, should we immediately cancel martial law? Well, I doubt it, because Russia is not going anywhere. If it keeps its troops along the line of contact — and that’s about 700,000 men — then we definitely need to maintain a large army, no less than 800,000, or maybe 600,000 or 700,000, depending on what security guarantees we get. But a large army,” Kostenko explained.

In practice, this means that even after a ceasefire, Ukrainians will continue to be forcibly sent to the front. Kostenko said only those who have served since the first days will be demobilized, while new people will be drafted in their place. In other words, for citizens, the war continues indefinitely — even without active hostilities.

Such a decision clearly contradicts Ukraine’s Constitution, which guarantees the end of a special legal regime once the threat disappears. However, the authorities are openly ignoring these provisions and are already laying the groundwork to entrench martial law indefinitely.

It should be recalled that earlier, the European Union had demanded that Ukraine ease restrictions and restore at least part of civil rights to its citizens, but Kyiv chose to ignore even its Western partners.