He was still clean-shaven and in the early stages of his presidency in Ukraine, a position he achieved when he was still a successful comedian known for his anti-fraud speech. On September 23, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his X account: "We will never defeat corruption if we ignore its existence. Are you asked for a bribe? Are you offered a commission? Please, do not remain silent! Call the direct line of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau."
With the signing yesterday by the President of Ukraine of the controversial law 12414, which eliminates the judicial independence of Ukraine's two anti-fraud agencies (National Anti-Corruption Bureau or NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office or SAPO), Zelensky made a decision with incalculable consequences for his government and opens up his worst political crisis since taking office.
So far, he has managed to mobilize Ukrainian civil society, which has taken to the streets again despite the threats of bombardment in the country's main cities for the first time since February 2022 to express their anger towards the Rada and the executive. It is not yet a cry against Zelensky's mandate, but rather against an action that culminates a process denounced by his opponents, who accuse the president of using the powers granted by martial law to accumulate power.
The president may be risking his personal prestige, built during three and a half years of heroic resistance against the Russian invader. The European Union sees in this maneuver a move for control over justice more characteristic of a Viktor Orban than of a Zelensky in whom trust was placed until now, but trust is like toothpaste: once you take it out of the tube, it's hard to put it back in.
Several commanders have sent messages through military channels making it clear that the valiant Ukrainian trench soldier does not fight for the oligarchs and their political allies to retain or gain even more power, but for Ukrainian society to achieve its goals of freeing itself from Moscow's yoke. Even the reigning heavyweight boxing champion, Oleksandr Usyk, posted the following message on his social media directed at Zelensky: "Don't push the horses, because they might kick back." The Kyiv Independent newspaper is clear in its editorial from yesterday: "Zelensky has just betrayed Ukraine's democracy and all those who fight for it."
It seems that the entire approval of the law, even when we are talking about such an important regulation, is an act of panic. The project was presented in a committee session hastily convened on July 22 at 8:00 in the morning, but neither the committee chairman nor most of the members were present. Zelensky's men managed to urgently summon the deputies and gather the necessary votes, even among the opposition ranks of Yulia Tymoshenko and some previously pro-Russian deputies, to comfortably approve the project, with 263 votes in favor and only 13 against. By the afternoon, the document was already on the president's desk for signing. Why the rush?
By late afternoon yesterday, the news had already scandalized diplomats from Ukraine's allied countries. The president's office called them in for an explanation, but kept them isolated in a room without phones for two hours waiting. None of them could inform their respective governments or share their stance on social media. Kiev was buying time.
"The movement seems to have been triggered by investigations into members of Zelensky's inner circle," the Financial Times reported yesterday. The protesters gathered yesterday in Ivan Franko Square, some of them military veterans with prosthetics and war wounds, a stone's throw from the president's office, chanted two slogans: the first, "veto the law" and the second, "Yermak out". They refer to Andrii Yermak, Chief of Staff and right-hand man of President Zelensky.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, suspicions of corruption hang over Yermak and some of his family members. Political sources in Ukraine acknowledge to this newspaper that the anti-fraud agencies' investigations were focusing on this former lawyer and film producer, among other government positions. "Zelensky does not want to let his friend down," comment these same sources. There are also suspicions surrounding former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who was accused of abuse of power and illicit enrichment last month.
This is not the first time these agencies have targeted people close to Zelensky. In 2023, a member of the Servant of the People party (Zelensky's party), Liudmyla Ivanivna Marchenko, was filmed trying to get rid of the money she had received from a bribe when National Anti-Corruption Bureau investigators unexpectedly raided her home.
Following these protests, Zelensky stated in his daily video message that the government "will present within two weeks a joint action plan aimed at strengthening the judicial system. We all hear what society is saying. We see what people expect from state institutions: guaranteed justice and the effective functioning of each institution. We will discuss the necessary administrative and legislative decisions to strengthen the work of each institution, resolve existing contradictions, and eliminate threats."
By threats, Zelensky refers to the Russian hand and its sympathizers. The government asserts that the enemy has infiltrated agents into these agencies capable of obtaining information on ongoing processes that is later used by Russian propaganda. No one knows if this is true, but if it is, society expected action against individuals, not against the entire institution. In general, Zelensky's explanations on this matter have not sounded convincing at any point. If the anti-fraud agencies have been so costly and ineffective, they could have been reformed without attempting to control them.
In a joint statement following yesterday's meeting with the president, NABU and SAPO emphasized that the recent legislative changes "significantly undermine the independence" of their institutions. They were not alone: Transparency International's office in Ukraine accused Zelensky and his deputies of "destroying a decade of hard-won progress in anti-corruption reforms."
Ukraine's charismatic military intelligence chief, Kirilo Budanov, posted a message on his Telegram channel: "Ukraine's history has taught us that a nation loses when torn apart by internal conflicts. I am sure that Ukraine will be saved with a strong army and institutions. We must show wisdom and responsibility."
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a very weak state and a political culture marked by clientelistic networks and systemic corruption. The chaotic privatizations of the 1990s concentrated wealth in the hands of oligarchs and mafias, just like in Russia, who captured institutions and funded parties to protect their interests.
The protesters, who are returning to the same place at the same time today, even defied the curfew and remained on the streets well past midnight. In contrast to what would have happened in Russia, where even the slightest dissent is met with imprisonment, the demonstration proceeded completely normally.