URAU has risen to 73,300: which regions have the most advocates
As of the end of April 2026, there were 73,316 advocates listed in the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine. Of these, 48,309 are practicing advocates. The remaining 25,007 are advocates who have suspended their practice or whose license to practice law has been revoked.
The statistical data from the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine was presented by the Vice President of the UNBA, BCU Valentin Gvozdiy during a BCU meeting held today, May 1.
The overall trend in the Register indicates a gradual increase in the number of advocates. In May 2024, URAU listed 69,015 advocates; in December 2025, 72,454; and as of April 2026, 73,316. That is, in just the first months of 2026, the total number increased by 862 entries.
The Kyiv region has the largest number of advocates by region — 12,187. In the city of Kyiv, the total number is 6,685 advocates. Among other regions, the highest numbers are in Dnipropetrovsk region — 5,408 advocates, Odesa region —5,382, Lviv region — 4,677, Donetsk region — 4,639, and Poltava region — 4,107.
At the same time, 73,316 advocates are registered without suspension, termination, or revocation, while 25,007 records pertain to advocates with such statuses. In percentage terms, this is approximately 66% and 34%, respectively.
In each of these regions, the ratio between the total number of practicing advocates and the number of advocates with suspended licenses varies.
At the same time, in a number of regions, the total number of advocates has increased, but the number of advocates without records of suspension, termination, or revocation has decreased. This trend is evident in the city of Kyiv, as well as in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Most of these regions are among the areas most affected by hostilities, occupation, cross-border shelling, or proximity to the front lines.
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