The phased restoration of competitions is one of the points of the Ukraine Facility Plan, the implementation of which will enable Ukraine to receive funding from the European Union in the amount of 50 billion euros. Olena Shuliak, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning, stated this in an exclusive comment to UNN.
Restoration of competitions – a requirement of the Ukraine Facility Plan
According to Shuliak, the relevant committee is currently working on draft law No. 13478-1 "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Resumption of Competitions and Improvement of the Procedure for Entry, Passage, and Termination of Public Service" so that the parliament can consider it during the 15th session.
This draft law is important because it aims at the phased restoration of competitions in accordance with the Ukraine Facility Plan, which was developed by Ukraine to receive funding of up to 50 billion euros from the European Union. The document establishes clear deadlines for the restoration of competitions for civil service positions of categories "A/B/C" and maximum terms of stay in such positions, to which appointments were made without competition during martial law. This returns the system to transparent selection based on professionalism
In addition, according to the MP, the draft law introduces a mechanism that allows the appointing authority to keep people appointed without competition in office for a specified period of time.
"Of course, such a decision can be made only if the person successfully and professionally performs their tasks and functions, and also, provided they pass a special check (if the position requires it). That is, the state simultaneously restores competitiveness and does not lose the efficiency of bodies due to a massive 're-staffing' of personnel," added Olena Shuliak.
And these changes also bring procedures in line with OECD/SIGMA principles and European Commission recommendations on the political neutrality of the High-Level Civil Service Commission. That is, it introduces personnel and candidate reserves, internal competitions, adaptation, and career advancement.
"All this is a systemic mechanism that will reduce chaotic appointments and increase the manageability of the civil service," the MP said.
The document also takes into account the security situation in the country, meaning that competitions will be held in areas where there are no hostilities. Appointments without competition will become temporary, and immediately after the end of hostilities, appropriate competitions for positions will be held.
Open competitions as a safeguard against corruption
The MP is convinced that the restoration of open competitions for civil service positions will become a safeguard against corruption. "After all, under such conditions, there is less room for manual appointments, placing 'their own people,' political influence on the selection for top positions, etc.," Olena Shuliak emphasized.
And, according to her, the document ensures an increase in the professionalism of commissions through mandatory training, more standardized assessments, integrity questionnaires for candidates, reserves, and internal competitions.
"This draft law is an indicator of the Ukraine Facility, and, as I said earlier, the draft law includes the EC recommendation on prohibiting the inclusion of persons holding political positions in the Commission. Therefore, international partners support the adoption of this draft law as soon as possible," Olena Shuliak summarized.
State Aviation Service as an antipode to the planned changes
As UNN previously reported, despite the cancellation of mandatory competitions for state positions due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the legislation does not prohibit their conduct. Decisions on each appointment are made individually.
For example, the appointment of the head of the State Aviation Service – the regulator in the aviation sector – is planned. Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba proposes to the government to appoint Ihor Zelinsky to this position. This appointment is intended to be pushed through manually without a competition.
The previous head of the State Aviation Service, Oleksandr Bilchuk, was dismissed in the autumn of 2025 due to a decision to transfer the maintenance documentation support for Mi-8MT(MTV) helicopters to AAL Group Ltd. The official ignored the presence of certified enterprises in Ukraine capable of performing these functions since 2014, after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. His choice fell on an offshore structure associated with the Russian defense-industrial complex. The ultimate beneficiary of AAL Group Ltd is the company "Russian Helicopters," which is part of the Russian state concern "Rostec."
Ihor Zelinsky worked as deputy head of the State Aviation Service for a long time, until February 2025, meaning he was Bilchuk's "right hand."
As UNN reported earlier, representatives of the Ukrainian aviation market characterize Zelinsky's period as deputy head of the State Aviation Service (2020-2025) as a time of systemic and purposeful destruction of transport aviation. If in 2016 there were more than 20 Il-76 aircraft in the state register, by the beginning of 2025 only two remained, and even those were not airworthy.
Experts point out that it was precisely due to the decisions of the previous leadership of the State Aviation Service (the head of the regulator Oleksandr Bilchuk and his deputy Ihor Zelinsky) that these aircraft were excluded from the Ukrainian register and effectively came under Russia's control. During this period, regulatory decisions were also made aimed at creating artificial obstacles to the operation of Il-76 in Ukraine, which is clearly an undermining of the state's defense capability.
In addition, since the 1990s, Il-76MD aircraft could be operated without additional paperwork for their re-registration between various departments, including the Ministry of Defense. In June 2023, when Zelinsky was acting head of the State Aviation Service, after appeals from aviation market representatives and the Ministry of Defense, he officially confirmed the absence of obstacles to the use of transport aircraft in the interests of Ukraine.
However, six months later, in December, he changed his mind, stating that Il-76MDs do not have civil type certificates and cannot be registered. As a result, the use of aircraft for military, humanitarian, and evacuation missions was blocked. In addition, this decision led to the downtime of aircraft and additional budget expenditures for their maintenance, which is material damage to the state.
It should be noted that after the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's invasion of Donbas, Ukraine imposed sanctions against the Russian developer of Il-76 aircraft, PJSC "Il." That is, any cooperation with this Russian enterprise is prohibited.
Despite this, Zelinsky issued dozens of airworthiness review certificates for aircraft based on the decision of the sanctioned PJSC "Il" from June 2022. In fact, in this way, he legalized the use of documents from the enterprise of the aggressor country, which, according to experts, could have brought the Russian side tens of millions of dollars in income.
Moreover, Zelinsky ignored the fact that there is a certified organization in Ukraine capable of providing appropriate support for Il-76 aircraft of PJSC "Il" without involving Russian sanctioned companies that are part of the aggressor country's defense-industrial complex.
As representatives of the aviation market explained to UNN, Zelinsky's decision put Il-75 aircraft operators before a choice: either cooperate with the Russian sanctioned developer or refuse to use the aircraft.
But now Vice Prime Minister Kuleba is trying not just to bring Zelinsky back to the State Aviation Service, but to appoint him to a leadership position.
For this appointment, the government needs the results of a special check of the candidate, which is also conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine. UNN learned that the special service plans to take into account the above facts and assess the damage to the state from Zelinsky's probable appointment to the position.
Is it possible to change the situation now?
Obviously, by lobbying for Zelinsky's manual appointment as head of the State Aviation Service, Vice Prime Minister Kuleba understands that this candidate would not be able to pass an open and transparent selection, as there are many questions about his candidacy. However, we want to emphasize once again that the legislation allows officials to be selected through open competitions, and from a security point of view, or rather the absence of hostilities in the capital, there are no obstacles to this.
The government can already today decide on an open competition and choose a worthy candidate for the position of head of the State Aviation Service.
After all, it is obvious that the heads of regulators should already be selected through open competitions to avoid the manual appointment of those who, by their actions, systematically harmed the interests of the state and may be involved in aiding the enemy. In addition, holding an open competition for the position of head of the State Aviation Service will be a clear signal to international partners that Ukraine is ready to implement the Ukraine Facility Plan now. And while parliament is busy formally returning such an obligation, the government is already acting.