The document proclaimed that "henceforth, the Ukrainian People's Republic is an autonomous, independent, and sovereign state of the Ukrainian people." It also expressed a commitment to peaceful coexistence with neighboring states and emphasized that these states had no right to intervene in its internal affairs. The adoption of the Universal affirmed the authority of the state power of the
Ukrainian Central Council until the convening of the
Ukrainian Constituent Assembly. The executive body of the
General Secretariat of the Ukrainian Central Council was reorganized into the
Council of People's Ministers of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which aimed to continue negotiations with the Central Powers, securing recognition of the Ukrainian People's Republic as a fully independent state. These negotiations ultimately culminated in the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Universal urged the government and citizens of Ukraine to resist
Bolsheviks and other "adversaries" who had devastated the land during the
Ukrainian–Soviet War. It proposed the dissolution of the standing
national armed forces, which had been created through the
Ukrainization of Russian Army units, and the establishment of a people's militia in their place. In the economic sphere, the aim was to transition industrial enterprises to a peaceful state, with the anticipation of establishing state control over banks, major branches of trade, export-import activities, and implementing state monopoly on strategic products like metal and coal. Plans were underway for a land law that would redistribute land to the laboring peasantry without compensation, as part of the cancellation of
private property and
socialization efforts before the start of spring fieldwork. The document also reaffirmed all public liberties declared in the
Third Universal of the Ukrainian Central Council, scheduled re-elections to the people's councils, and called on all citizens to participate actively in the elections to the
Ukrainian Constituent Assembly. The Fourth Universal of the Ukrainian Central Council explicitly outlined the establishment of a sovereign country as the ultimate goal for all Ukrainians. ==International recognition==