We obtain conditions for the existence and uniqueness of an optimal control for the linear nonstationary operator-differential equation
$\frac{d}{{dt}}A(t)y(t)] + B(t)y(t) = K(t)u(t) + f(t)$
with a quadratic performance criterion. The operators
A(
t) and
B(
t) are closed and may have nontrivial kernels. The results are applied to differential-algebraic equations and to partial differential equations that do not belong to the Cauchy-Kowalewskaya type.