In Ukraine, criminal liability for petty theft has been abolished, but fines bite.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law changing the responsibility for petty theft and setting a new threshold for criminal liability.

According to the new law, the threshold for criminal liability for theft increases from 300 to 3000 hryvnias. This means that theft in the amount of up to 3000 hryvnias will be considered an administrative offense, not a criminal offense.

At the same Time, the law enhances administrative responsibility for petty thefts. For theft of an amount up to 757 hryvnias, a fine of 850 to 1700 hryvnias is provided. If the amount stolen ranges from 758 to 3028 hryvnias, the fine will increase to 1700-5100 hryvnias. For repeated offenses, the fine may range from 8500 to 17000 hryvnias.

It is important to note that under martial law, any theft, regardless of amount, is classified as a criminal offense under part four of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The punishment for this is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.

The changes in the legislation aim to normalize the situation where overly severe punishments were applied for petty theft under martial law conditions. The new law aims to ensure a fairer approach to punishment for different types of theft, considering their severity and circumstances.

Additionally, it was previously reported that on July 18, the Rada adopted in the first reading a bill to soften the punishment for corruption.