For the first time in over three years of war, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s nearly absolute political control over Ukraine is being openly challenged by mass street protests. Thousands of young Ukrainians gathered Tuesday in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Lviv to denounce recent legal measures perceived as undermining the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies.
The unrest was sparked by a heavy-handed raid Monday by Ukraine’s Security Services (SSU) on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Civil society groups and Ukraine’s international allies condemned the operation as a political attempt to curtail these agencies’ autonomy.
Tensions escalated further when Zelenskiy’s party, Servant of the People, used its absolute parliamentary majority to pass a controversial legal reform effectively placing NABU and SAPO under the control of the government-aligned Prosecutor General’s Office. The move was seen as a direct attack on Ukraine’s anti-corruption framework and triggered widespread outrage.
Dozens of prominent pro-democracy activists mobilized the public against Law 12414, and thousands answered the call, filling city squares with slogans defending NABU’s independence and urging Zelenskiy to reverse course. In Kyiv, demonstrators gathered near the Ivano Franko Theater from early evening until midnight, defying wartime bans on public assemblies without police intervention.
“Zelenskiy is one signature away from betraying Ukrainian democracy,” the Kyiv Independent editorialized, reflecting widespread fears that the reform undermines hard-won reforms critical to Ukraine’s European integration path.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos voiced serious concern on social media, warning that dismantling safeguards protecting anti-corruption bodies marked a step backward for Ukraine’s EU ambitions.
The protests echoed the spirit of the 2014 Maidan Revolution, with chants of “Ukraine is not Russia” and “Let’s return to Europe” resonating through the crowds. Demonstrators creatively used cardboard cutouts and hand-painted signs to express their demands.
Despite the pressure, Zelenskiy signed the law late Tuesday, triggering angry chants against the president for the first time during the day’s protests. Notably, Zelenskiy skipped his usual nightly video address, signaling the difficult political position he faces.
While the country grapples with this internal political crisis, the war continues unabated. On Tuesday, Ukrainian military officials confirmed Russian troops entered Pokrovsk city in Donetsk province, intensifying fears of further territorial losses.
Protesters mingled anti-government slogans with patriotic songs and support for Ukraine’s armed forces, many of whom are young men of draft age avoiding enlistment. The demonstrations reveal the complex dynamics in a nation fighting an external war while confronting rising domestic political tensions.
