Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine

The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Декларація про державний суверенітет України, romanized: Deklaratsiia pro derzhavnyi suvernitet Ukrainy, IPA: [deklɐˈrɑts⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ pro derˈʒɑu̯nɪj sʊweren⁽ʲ⁾iˈtɛt ʊkrɐˈjinɪ]) was adopted on July 16, 1990, by the recently elected parliament of Ukrainian SSR by a vote of 355 for and four against.

The declaration established Ukraine, not Ukrainian SSR, as official name of the republic, and defined it as a sovereign nation state developing on the base of Ukrainian people's right for self-determination. It declared Ukraine's right to have its own Armed Forces, Internal Troops and Security Service. The document decreed that Ukrainian SSR laws took precedence over the laws of the USSR, and declared that the Ukrainian SSR would maintain its own army and its own national bank with the power to introduce its own currency. The declaration also proclaimed that the republic has intent to become "a permanently neutral state that does not participate in military blocs," and that it would not accept, nor produce, nor procure nuclear weapons.

The Declaration established the principles of Self-Determination of the Ukrainian Nation, Rule of the People, State Power, Citizenship of the Ukrainian SSR, Territorial Supremacy, Economic Independence, Environmental Safety, Cultural Development, External and Internal Security, and International Relations.

The Declaration established Ukrainian SSR citizenship while guaranteeing citizens the right to retain USSR citizenship, approving this by a vote of 296 for and 26 against. Additionally, on July 16, 1990, parliament by a vote of 339 for and five against proclaimed July 16 a national holiday in Ukraine.