At its meeting on September 25, 2025, the Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine summed up the results of the admission campaign and discussed ways to improve the rules for admission to universities in 2026.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science, relevant committees, rectors of leading universities from all regions of the country, as well as heads of frontline educational institutions.
The head of the Rectors’ Union, Petro Kulikov, opened the meeting and emphasized the key role of higher education in ensuring national stability during the war:
“Ukrainian universities not only continue education and science, but also form the personnel base for the post-war restoration of the state. Today, the Union of Rectors is a communication platform between universities, parliament, and the government.”
Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykola Trofimenko stressed the importance of institutional strengthening of the Union:
“Today, the Union acts as a key partner of the state in shaping educational policy. We must consider the possibility of transforming it into the Association of Universities of Ukraine, which will allow us to represent the interests of higher education even more effectively.”
Deputy Chairman of the Union, Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Volodymyr Bugrov stressed the need to update the regulatory framework:
“The 2025 admission campaign was generally successful, but we see a need to improve admission rules and update legislation.”
Rector of Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University Viktor Hreshta highlighted the challenges faced by frontline universities and the need for state support for such institutions.
Rector of Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture Oleksii Dniprov emphasized the importance of increasing the transparency of admission procedures.
Viktoria Petrushenko, Rector of Vinnitsa National Medical University named after Pirogov, highlighted the risks of lowering passing scores in medical specialties.
Vadym Tkachuk, Rector of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, drew attention to the problems of indicative cost.
Maksym Tymoshenko, Rector of the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy, called for ensuring the key role of creative competitions in art universities.
The meeting was also attended by members of parliament, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation, deputy ministers, heads of departments of the Ministry of Education and Science, in particular, Oleg Sharov, Director General of the Directorate of Higher Education and Adult Education, who answered questions from participants.
The approved document (decision of the Union of Rectors) states:
The Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine is an all-Ukrainian public organization that brings together university leaders to coordinate educational, scientific, and international activities.
Founded in 1992, the organization acts as an advisory partner to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and participates in the development of state educational policy and regulations in the field of higher education.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/projects/1110091.html
Hreshta, KULIKOV, Trofimenko, TYMOSHENKO, Union of Rectors, UNIVERSITY, Бугров, Дніпров, Петрушенко, Ткачук, Шаров
According to the results of 92.97% of electronic protocols processed, the Servant of the People Party (43.13% of the vote), the Opposition Platform – For Life – 13.05%, Batkivschyna – 8.19%, European Solidarity – 8.14%, and Holos – 5.86% enter the Verkhovna Rada.
According to the CEC website, the 5% barrier to the parliament is not yet overcome by the Radical Party with 4.01% of the vote, Strength and Honor Party, which gains 3.8% of the votes in Ukraine as a whole, the Opposition Bloc – 3.06%, and Groysman’s Ukrainian Strategy Party with 2.32% of the vote.
The Sharij Party has gained 2.24% of the vote, Svoboda – 2.17%, and Civil Position – 1.05%.
Parties that have received less than 1% of the vote are the Party of Greens of Ukraine (0.65% of the vote), Samopomich (0.63%), and the Agrarian Party of Ukraine (0.51%).
The other parties got less than 0.5% of the vote.
The exit poll was conducted on July 21 by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies named after Oleksandr Razumkov.
Leader of the Ukrainian Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko has said the country needs a new constitution. “Ukraine needs a new Constitution,” Tymoshenko said on the Ukraina television channel on Friday.
The current one is not working for the protection of human rights, she said. The text of the Fundamental Law should be written by the public with “broad, large-scale debate, with the understanding of every comma and every letter,” she said.
“Essentially, this should be a public agreement among all citizens and not the top-down rules that benefit officials and politicians,” she said.
A new constitution should be adopted at a referendum, “not as a mere formality, but for real, so that people know what they spell out in that constitution and what they gain from it,” she said.
Batkivschyna leader Yulia Tymoshenko has said “a coalition of actions” should be created in the new parliament, and a coalition agreement should be based on the New Course program developed by her party. She said it is a clear plan for saving Ukraine.
“We proposed to create a coalition of actions and stop talking about reforms and dreams. We must make the New Course program the basis for a coalition of actions. This is the program that we have and which provides a timetable. There are certain indicators showing what we will achieve, for example, 7% economic growth per year. No party has such a professional comprehensive plan for Ukraine,” Tymoshenko said during an interview broadcast by the NewsOne TV on Thursday evening.
Tymoshenko said it is important not to waste time.
“We need to quickly get to work. There are many statements, conversations, memoranda, but this is white noise. We must act and give people results,” she said, adding that if the program is implemented successfully Ukrainians will live like Polish people do in five years.
“We have set ourselves such a task. And we will have at least 7% of economic growth per year,” she said.
Tymoshenko said the Servant of the People, the Batkivschyna and Holos party parliament factions would form a coalition in the new parliament.
“Our experience and knowledge of how to act daily to save the country […] will help the president’s team,” she said.
The leader of the Batkivschyna Party, MP Yulia Tymoshenko is convinced that the idea to revise the powers of the president proposed in the draft law initiated by Samopomich contradicts the Constitution. “In my opinion, the bill proposed by Samopomich contradicts the Constitution. In addition, the country was bored with political intrigue, dragging of power and attempts to change the rules during the game. People are waiting for changes in their lives, actions and results,” Tymoshenko said on Facebook. According to her, the powers of the president are clearly defined by the Constitution. And we must allow the elected head of state to do his job, she added.
Presidential candidates Volodymyr Zelensky and incumbent President Petro Poroshenko have received 30.40% and 16.03% of votes cast on March 31, respectively, according to Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) with 80.20% of voting protocols processed.
According to the CEC website, 13.24% of voters cast ballots for Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko, followed by Opposition Platform – For Life candidate Yuriy Boiko – 11.55%.
Civil Position Party leader Anatoliy Hrytsenko received 7.03%, followed by ex-SBU State Security Service head Ihor Smeshko – 5.95%, Radical Party leader Oleh Liashko – 5.29%, Opposition Bloc leader Oleksandr Vilkul – 4.3% and Svoboda Party leader Ruslan Koshulynsky – 1.65%.
Some 1.18% of ballots cast were ruled invalid.
