The Cabinet of Ministers has radically changed the rules of public procurement during martial law: what will come into effect from September 1

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 957 of July 15, 2026, which significantly updated the rules for conducting public and defense procurement during martial law. The document makes large-scale changes to Resolutions No. 1178 and No. 1275, which regulate public and defense procurement.

Most of the innovations will enter into force on September 1, 2026 and will be one of the largest updates to the procurement system since the beginning of a full-scale war.

New mechanism for direct contracts

The resolution introduces a new mechanism for concluding direct contracts without open tenders for certain categories of customers. By the end of 2026, this opportunity will extend to the procurement of critical equipment for energy infrastructure, in particular gas piston and cogeneration plants, gas turbines, diesel generators, transformers, boiler houses, heat pumps and their components.

The simplified procedure will also apply to works and services required for the construction, reconstruction, restoration and overhaul of relevant critical infrastructure facilities.

Procurement transparency will be strengthened

Despite the expansion of opportunities for direct procurement, the government is simultaneously strengthening control over the use of budget funds.

Customers will be required to publish the justification for the use of direct contracts, reports on concluded contracts, information on the ultimate beneficial owners of suppliers, and in some cases – documents on the cost of material resources in machine-readable format.

However, for some contracts, information will become public only 90 days after the termination or cancellation of martial law. It is also allowed to hide the exact addresses of customers and suppliers if their disclosure may pose a security threat.

Legislative procurement thresholds are returned

The resolution returns the threshold amounts of procurement to the level provided for by the Law “On Public Procurement”.

From now on, for most customers, competitive procedures will be applied when purchasing goods and services from UAH 200 thousand, and works from UAH 1.5 million. For enterprises operating in certain areas of the economy, the thresholds will be UAH 1 million for goods and services and UAH 5 million for works. This will allow customers to plan purchases of lower value more flexibly.

Purchasing products through Prozorro Market will no longer be mandatory

Another important change was the abolition of the mandatory use of the Prozorro Market electronic catalog for purchasing food products.

After the resolution enters into force, customers will independently determine the most effective way to conduct purchases – through an electronic catalog, open tenders or framework agreements.

The negotiated procurement procedure has received new rules

The document significantly updates the procedure for applying the negotiated procurement procedure.

In particular, it can be used after unsuccessful open tenders, in the absence of competition for technical reasons, urgent need, the need to purchase additional works or services, as well as in a number of other cases specified by the resolution. In this case, customers will have to justify in detail the grounds for applying the negotiated procedure.

The terms of the tenders and the appeal mechanism will change

The government has also unified the terms of open tenders. The minimum term for submitting tender proposals will be 15 calendar days.

In addition, for the first time, the possibility of appealing the negotiated procurement procedure will be introduced, which should strengthen control over such decisions.

New requirements for construction and defense procurement

For construction contracts worth more than UAH 10 million, customers will be required to publish acts of completed work and documents on their cost.

Similar changes have also been made to the rules for defense procurement, expanding the list of cases when state contracts can be concluded without competitive procedures.

According to the government, Resolution No. 957 simultaneously simplifies the procurement of critical goods for energy, defense, and infrastructure restoration, but at the same time significantly strengthens the requirements for transparency, documentary justification, and control over the use of public funds.