The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by Resolution No. 19 of January 10, 2025 introduced amendments to the Traffic Rules. The changes are related to the entry into force of a new version of the law on compulsory third-party liability insurance for car owners.
The resolution allows not to inform the police in the event of a head-on traffic accident involving only two vehicles. This is possible provided that property damage is caused exclusively in the form of damage (destruction) of the vehicle, and no harm is caused to the life and health of individuals.
Such drivers have the right, without the involvement of the National Police, to jointly prepare a report on a traffic accident in paper or electronic form for submission to the insurer.
The current version of the Traffic Rules allowed participants in a traffic accident not to call the police, but to appear at the nearest police station or the National Police agency to complete the relevant materials, having previously drawn up a scheme of the incident and signed it.
According to the resolution, the driver is required to carry a valid insurance policy (contract) for compulsory civil liability insurance of owners of land vehicles (on electronic or paper media), the information about which is confirmed by the information contained in the Unified Centralized Database, or a Green Card insurance certificate (on electronic or paper media) issued by a foreign insurer.
The new law on mandatory third-party liability insurance for car owners came into effect on January 1, 2025.
It provides for a gradual increase in the maximum amount of insurance compensation from January 2025:
- for harm to life and health - from UAH 320 thousand to UAH 500 thousand;
- for property damage - from UAH 160 thousand to UAH 250 thousand.
The cost of insurance policies will increase by 25-30% from the beginning of the year.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved changes to licensing conditions to simplify the requirements for premises for opening pharmacies in rural areas.
Now, in order to obtain a license to open pharmacies, it is not necessary to make complex architectural alterations to the premises - it is enough to simply zone the pharmacy space in accordance with the updated requirements.
This will make it easier for entrepreneurs to select premises for pharmacy establishments, plan and equip them, and therefore, it will be possible to use the premises for a much lower cost or rent.
The approved changes became an important step in the implementation of Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 483 "On Measures to Ensure Availability of Medical and Rehabilitation Care, Medicines and Medical Devices in Rural Areas".
In general for pharmacies: the requirements for the minimum sales area for pharmacies in villages have been reduced from 13.5 m² to 11 m². The requirements for the total area of such pharmacies will remain unchanged - 30 m².
For pharmacies in villages: previously, the premises of a pharmacy in a village had to be divided into a sales hall (not less than 6 m²), a room for storing medicines (not less than 3.6 m²), and rooms for employees (not less than 2.4 m²).
Now, within the total area (not less than 18 m²), owners only need to allocate a retail area of not less than 6 m², and the requirements for allocating separate premises for storing medicines and a room for employees have been eliminated.
Simplified requirements will encourage more pharmacies to open in remote areas, making it easier for people living far from cities to access medicines.
Currently, only 11% of Ukrainian villages have pharmacies. In total, there are 5,700 pharmacies operating in villages and towns. Such conditions significantly complicate people's access to medicines. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is also working on other initiatives to make medicines even more accessible. In particular, residents of villages, frontline and remote areas can use the delivery of medicines through Ukrposhta (the service operates throughout the country) or mobile pharmacy points.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by Resolution No. 1553 made amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 389 of June 4, 2015 "On Approval of the Procedure for Providing Benefits to Certain Categories of Citizens Taking into Account the Average Monthly Total Family Income".
In accordance with the adopted changes, the list of persons who in 2025 will be provided with benefits for paying for housing and communal services and purchasing solid fuel, taking into account the average monthly total family income, has been supplemented.
Benefits will be provided if the average monthly total family income per person for the previous six months does not exceed the amount of income that entitles to a tax social benefit (4,240 UAH); in 2025, benefits will also be provided to:
- rehabilitated persons who became disabled as a result of repression or are pensioners;
- persons affected by the Chernobyl disaster, classified as categories 1 and 2;
- wives (husbands), guardians of children of deceased citizens whose deaths are related to the Chernobyl disaster;
- wives (husbands), if they have not remarried, of deceased citizens whose death was related to participation in the liquidation of other nuclear accidents, in nuclear tests, in military exercises involving the use of nuclear weapons, in the assembly of nuclear charges and the performance of routine work on them;
- persons discharged from military service who became disabled while serving in the military;
- parents and family members of military personnel who died or went missing while serving in the military;
- veterans of military service, internal affairs bodies, National Police, Tax Police, Economic Security Bureau, State Emergency Service, State Penitentiary Service, Civil Protection Service, State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection;
- widows (widowers) of deceased (fallen) veterans of military service, internal affairs bodies, National Police, Tax Police, Economic Security Bureau, State Emergency Service, State Penitentiary Service, Civil Protection Service, State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection;
- former minor prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos, and other places of forced detention created by fascist Germany and its allies during World War II, as well as children born in the specified places of forced detention of their parents;
- former minor prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and other places of forced detention, recognized as persons with disabilities due to general illness, occupational injury and other reasons;
- deported persons who have reached retirement age or are disabled.
The above changes apply to persons who apply for the benefit from January 1, 2025. Those who were granted the benefit earlier will receive it until the end of the 2024-2025 heating season, that is, until April 30, 2025 (inclusive).
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Ensuring the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to Work” (basic draft law No. 5344-e).
The law will lead to a significant increase in opportunities for people with disabilities in the labor market.
The adoption of the Law will expand the opportunities for the relevant category of persons to find employment not only at private enterprises, but also in state authorities and local governments.
The draft law provides for compensation to employers for the costs of arranging "smart" workplaces for persons with disabilities, as well as providing persons with disabilities with social support, a personal assistant, sign language interpretation, etc. in the workplace (if necessary).
At the same time, the law provides a choice for employers:
- employ persons with disabilities by providing them with (if necessary) appropriate workplaces (1 workplace for employers with a staff of 8 to 25 employees;
- 2% of jobs – for employers whose main activity is the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, training of such persons or care for them;
- 4% of jobs – for employers with more than 25 employees)
- pay a targeted contribution to support the employment of persons with disabilities to the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities (in the event, for example, of the impossibility of employing persons of the relevant category due to a high degree of occupational risk).
Accumulated funds from employers in both the private and public sectors will be spent specifically to ensure the implementation of active employment programs; measures to support employment; ensuring the provision of social services for the employment of persons with disabilities, and other programs and measures aimed at their social protection in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.
An important role in implementing the policy of inclusion and adaptation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society is assigned to public associations created by such persons (or in the interests of such persons), human rights organizations, initiators of the creation of hubs for persons with disabilities, providers of social services to the relevant category of citizens. Each of such associations has the right to equal access to state funding, depending on the importance and relevance of the project developed by them.
The development of civil society involves access for every organization, including organizations representing the interests of persons with disabilities as a result of the war (the number of such NGOs is increasing due to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine), to competitive procedures, which guarantees transparent and effective distribution of state funding for the implementation of the best projects and activities.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has once again adopted laws extending martial law and general mobilization, namely:
- draft law No. 12404 “On Approval of the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On Extension of the Term of Martial Law in Ukraine”;
- draft law No. 12405 “On Approval of the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On Extension of the Period of General Mobilization”.
They provide for the extension of martial law and general mobilization for another 90 days - that is, from February 8 to May 9, 2025.
This is the 14th time the Rada has voted for martial law and mobilization.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution "On Approval of the Procedure and Conditions for Providing Additional Subsidies from the State Budget to Local Budgets for the Exercise of Powers of Local Self-Government Bodies in Deoccupied, Temporarily Occupied and Other Territories of Ukraine that have been Negatively Affected by the Full-Scale Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation."
The approved resolution defines the mechanism for providing additional subsidies to local budgets for the exercise of the powers of local government bodies that have been negatively affected by full-scale armed aggression.
The Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" provides for funds for an additional subsidy to local budgets in the amount of UAH 36.5 billion, which has already been partially distributed between local budgets to equalize imbalances in local budgets in the amount of UAH 11.2 billion.
According to the adopted act, local governments operating in deoccupied, temporarily occupied and other territories of Ukraine will be able to receive additional funding for the effective exercise of their powers, as well as to ensure priority needs at the local level.
