“Our task is to establish and consolidate a single time on the entire territory of Ukraine without exception,” Ruslan Stefanchuk
18 February 2021, 16:39
“While working with colleagues on the text of this bill, we took into account the requirements of Article 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which only the laws of Ukraine establish units of time. As well as the provisions of Article 3, which defines a person, his life and health as the highest social value. Seasonal moving clock hands should not cause any harm,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
According to him, the transition to summer or winter time has a negative effect on human biorhythms. Ruslan Stefanchuk also reminded that the European Union has been talking about canceling the annual transition to winter and summer time for more than a year.
“95% of the territory of Ukraine is within a single time zone - UTC+2. Only Luhansk and partly Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, as well as a small part of Zakarpattia region are in other time zones. The time difference between them is 68 minutes. Therefore, we can say that in fact the whole of Ukraine is within one time zone,” said the First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Ruslan Stefanchuk added that the economic feasibility of the transition to winter or summer time has not been proven.
“There are no studies that prove electricity savings. If necessary, when preparing the bill for the second reading, we will be able to provide for the possibility of granting some territorial communities the right to introduce regional working hours,” he said.
The politician also reminded that after the annexation of Crimea, the Russian Federation immediately made a decision and established Moscow time in the temporarily occupied territories.
“Our task is to establish and consolidate a single Kyiv time on the entire territory of Ukraine without exception,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.