Legislative power is vested in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian: Верховна Рада, lit.

As part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic until 1991, the political system featured a single-party socialist-republic framework characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU), the sole-governing party then permitted by the Ukrainian SSR's constitution.

The widely condemned Russian annexations of Crimea in 2014, and of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2022 have complicated the de facto political situation associated with those areas.

A new, democratic constitution was adopted on 28 June 1996, which mandates a pluralistic political system with protection of basic human rights and liberties, and a semi-presidential form of government.

The consociationalist agreement transformed the form of government in a semi-presidentialism in which the president of Ukraine had to cohabit with a powerful prime minister.

[4] According to Radio Free Europe, however, the measure was not signed by the then-president Viktor Yanukovych, who was subsequently removed from office.

[5] On 3 September 2019, new amendments to the Constitution were passed, which abolished the parliamentary immunity for the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada with exception for not being responsible for the results of voting or their statements in the parliament, but they are liable for insult or defamation.

[8] Article 15 of the Constitution states that Social life in Ukraine must be based on the principles of political, economic, and ideological diversity.

[8] Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, although religious organizations are required to register with local authorities and with the central government.

In particular, the failure of the government to conduct a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation into the 2000 disappearance and murder of independent journalist Georgiy Gongadze has had a negative effect on Ukraine's international image.

Over half of Ukrainians polled by the Razumkov Center in early October 2010 (56.6%) believed political censorship existed in Ukraine.

In 2019 the Electoral Code was adopted, according to which, all members of parliament will be elected exclusively on open party lists.

Ukrainian parties tend not to have clear-cut ideologies[13] but are incline to centre around civilizational and geostrategic orientations (rather than economic and socio-political agendas, as in Western politics),[14] around personalities and business interests.

This system encourages regional elites to compete fiercely for control over the central government and the position of the president.

During USSR times Crimea was ceded from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 by First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav.

In response, the UN General Assembly passed non-binding resolution 68/262 declaring the referendum invalid and officially supporting Ukraine's claim to Crimea.