Corruption –
In Ukraine, the angry Z generation of its president
Despite the promise of a new vote, the anti -corruption law decided by Volodymyr Zelensky provokes the anger of young people. Report in Kharkiv where the demonstrations follow one another.
In Kharkiv, hundreds of young demonstrators have castigated the adoption of the law in recent days by parliament.
Louis Lemaire-Sicre / Hans Lucas
- Ukrainian demonstrators protest against a law limiting the independence of anti -corruption agencies.
- Civil society has been opposed for the first time to Zelensky since the start of the war.
- Young activists brave the risk of bombing to defend Ukrainian democracy.
- This political crisis considerably weakens the credibility of President Zelensky.
«Hainbá! Hainbá!»(Shame! Shame!) Had the crowd. Hung on the immense bronze statues that are entitled to the Dance Conservatory of Kharkivyoung activists, wrapped in Ukrainian flags stir up large colorful slogans.
On one, we can read: “Make love, but no corruption law.” On another: “at low law 12414”, in reference to a text voted this week by the Ukrainian Parliament, under the leadership of President Zelensky. It strengthens the powers of the Attorney General in the surveys carried out by the National Office to Combat Corruption (NABU), as well as in the files followed by the Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
This reform contradicts the inheritance of The Maidan Revolution of 2014which had placed the fight against corruption and the separation of powers at the heart of Ukrainian democratic renewal. In fact, by subordinating the two main anti-corruption agencies to the Attorney General, himself appointed by the President, the law replaces these institutions under the direct control of the executive, that is to say from the Ukrainian president.
Worrying decline in the fight against corruption
A decision collected by many observers as a disturbing decline in the fight against corruption, and a dangerous turning point for the governance of the country. If the European Union immediately expressed its concerns in the face of this development, it is especially Ukrainian civil society which, in all the cities of the country, and for the first time since the start of the war, has descended in the street to oppose its own president.
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For the time being, after having ratified the law, Volodymyr Zelensky tried to appease the popular discontent by promising the vote of a new text on Thursday to guarantee the independence of the two organs. “The main thing is effective instruments, no connection with Russia and the independence of Nabu and Sapo. The bill will be presented at the Verkhovna Rada (Editor’s note: the Ukrainian parliament)Said the country’s strong man.
This announcement, far from calming the crowd, only reinforced it in its determination to continue its action.
The fear of seeing your country sink
Lena and Albina Kishishovskiy, respectively aged 15 and 17, has been protesting for two days now. They met on the first day of mobilization. Armed with signs, the fist raised to the sky, they descended the Chevtchenko avenue to the Opera. In chorus, they relentlessly chant songs, slogans and Ukrainian hymns.
Initially, the two teenagers had hesitated. In Kharkiv, just 30 kilometers from the front line, the Russian strikes, whether ballistic missiles or planing bombs, have become daily. But faced with President Zelensky’s decision, neither Lena nor Albina could not resolve to stay at home.
Lena and Albina during the demonstration. On their signs, we can read “#12414, will make you f …” and “new politics, but old prosecutors”
Iryna matviyishyn
“I didn’t tell my mother,” says Albina with a smile. Short, ruffled hair, dressed in a T-shirt from the Rock Queen group and the arms covered with bracelets, she continues: “But I understood that if I do not go there, something much more serious than a simple strike would happen to us. So I’m here so as not to let this country sink. Because I want to see him prosper, not self -destruct. ”
Her new friend has also braved the risks to come and protest. Too young for having experienced the 2014 Maidan Revolution, the two teenagers feel the heirs of this founding movement. “I dream of teaching the history of Ukraine,” explains one. And I wondered: what a historian worthy of the name, who really likes his country, would remain silent? ”
A crisis that weakens Volodymyr Zelensky
The two young girls, descended for the first time in their life on the street to demonstrate, do not hide their disappointment with regard to Volodymyr Zelensky. “We have a lot of respect for what he did at the start of the war while staying in kyiv, and we appreciate his foreign policy. But that does not make him a living God, ”explains Lena.
According to Sébastien Gobert, specialist in Ukraine and author of the book: “Ukraine, the Republic of oligarchs», The episode marks a political turning point. “Zelensky comes out of it. The profound reasons for passing the law remain unclear, but the release of this sequence is perfectly clear. The Zelensky administration wanted to impose its will, but it has undergone a return of a stick, from both civil society and European partners in Ukraine. ”
The Ukrainian President, long perceived as the incarnation of democratic resistance in the face of Russian aggression, now faces a frontal challenge, both indoors and international. Its credibility is shaken, even though its popularity, declining for several months, had experienced a notable rebound after the diplomatic incident around the Oval office in February 2025.
The dynamics of interior mobilization could be transformed. Other demonstrations could break out, on new subjects. “The Rubicon was crossed. The population saw that the protest could bear fruit, ”observes Sébastien Gobert. In the background there is a possible rebalancing of power centers in kyiv, especially around Andriy Yermak, the all-powerful adviser to the president, whose role could now be called into question.
But will the fundamental question remain: will Volodymyr Zelensky hear the warnings of its European partners and civil society, or will it choose on the contrary to bypass the opposition to pass its reform in another, more discreet form?
A Ukrainian tradition of revolt and demonstrations
The last rays of the sun accompany the demonstrators. In the distance, a blood -colored sky mixes with the opaque smoke of a planing bomb fallen in the vicinity of the city.
Arsenii, a young graphic designer of Kharkiv, with his friends during the demonstration in front of the Kharkiv Opera.
Iryna matviyishyn
Arseniy Novikov, 19, is advancing a calm step alongside a group of friends. In artistic residence near Kramatorsk, a hundred kilometers from Kharkiv, he made the trip with his collective to support the popular initiative in his hometown.
“We are tired of seeing the story repeat themselves,” says the young man. “But the Ukrainians do not spare their efforts. They know that power must be monitored. Those who govern us do not seem to have understood it yet. So, we are there to show them that their private interests will not triumph. ”
According to him, in Ukraine, politics is not yet structured to serve citizens; The construction of a real democratic system remains unfinished.
Albina Kishishovskiy sees in this event, mainly carried by her generation, an encouraging sign for Ukraine of tomorrow. “Even if we are very young, it is impossible not to be interested in politics. It affects us too much. You can’t close your eyes, stay deaf. “
Lena, her friend, adds. For her, it is always youth and students – in Ukraine as elsewhere in the world – which have been the spearhead of progress and popular movements. And this reality, she says, is even more palpable here.
But above all, for these two adolescent girls, no going back is possible. In Kharkiv, constantly under the threat of Russian strikes, they wonder: what, today, puts Ukraine the most? The advance of enemy tanks or the silent erosion of freedoms? “And if we are silent, we will be destroyed. Destroyed. Destroyed, ”breathes Albina.
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