In wartime, demonstrations in Ukraine can never be more than a peaceful protest | Ukraine

Once in ten years, there is a moment when Ukraine’s street protests redefine the political aspect of the country. The orange revolution of 2004; 2014 Maidan Revolution; And now, in the last 10 days, the first large wave of protests since the beginning of Russia’s full -scale invasion.

A series of unexpectedly noisy and good participation demonstrations forced Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a quick U -turn in the decision to scrape the independence of the fight against two corruption. On Thursday, MPs reversed the contentious changes they adopted a week ago. Apart from the Parliament building, the crowds drowned and cheered as the result of the vote was announced.

The size, scope and demands of this last protest movement have been much more modest than the revolutionary predecessors, but the show was not less remarkable, given the full -scale war context it took place.

Last, the celebration meeting arrived only hours after the last major Russian air strike hit Kiev and killed at least 28 people, including all three children. Before coming to the parliament armed with Panlanlar and high spirits, no one had ruled a good night’s sleep.

This war -time context greatly inspired protests: when people abandon their lives for the country on the front line, a common feeling that the government has to live up to a certain set of value. But it also limited its scope. Maidan’s revolutionary enthusiasm here had none; Instead, first of all, there was a sober confirmation that political unrest would only play in the hands of Russia.

The opposition from the Holos party, who participated in a few protests, said, “There were some people who chant for imports, and the majority of the others, ‘Kapainin, we do not weaken the legitimacy of the president, the legitimate president is making an error’ he said.

Dmytro Koziatynskyi, the first spark for protest on social media, refused to compare with Maidan. “Even if they don’t cross the law, this will never be nothing more than a peaceful protest,” he said in an interview before the parliamentary vote.

Koziatynskyi was a master’s degree in the Czech Republic before returning to Ukraine after returning to Ukraine after a full -scale invasion in 2022 and registering to become a war doctor. Three years later, in various parts of the front line, he left the army in May and is now working for a NGO. Last week, when the parliament saw the news that two specifically designed organs after the top corruption, he found a law that restricts the independence, he found it “humiliating”. “People do not fight, so our government can do crazy things that have destroyed all our achievements since 2014,” he said.

He wrote an angry article on social media that called on people to protest against the new law. “Maximum 100 people, mostly friends and acquaintances” were waiting for the participation of the protest. The second night was about 10,000 people outside the Ivan Franko Theater, which is the closest access to the presidential office.

Most of those who went out were young – this was a wave of protests dominated by Gen Z, friends compete for the most intelligent slogan or breast reference on handwriting banners. On Wednesday evening, a man leading the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem through a speaker holding a single word: “Cringe”.

Suddenly, the National Anti-Corruption Office, known as the fate of relatively small institutions and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Sapo-Ukrainian young people had become the problem of the day.

Nabu and Sapo were founded as part of a driving against the long -standing corruption in Ukraine after the Maidan Revolution and was partly financed by US money. Some Western observers agree that there are problems with Nabu and SAPO: too many cases have been opened and not enough. In theory, it would make sense to flow into some order; In practice, Zelenskyy’s movement seemed to be political control of independent researchers.

The Trump administration now seems to have felt that Zelenskyy’s team can pushed the bill quickly without much attention to everyone, with the agenda of a fight against corruption and forcing Europe during summer holidays.

If not for protests, this could be the case. However, the images of thousands of young people demanding the abolition of the law forced the European politicians to take a stand, and several leaders spoke specifically for Zelenskyy.

A diplomatic source in Kiev said, “This has become a major violation of trust. It makes it more difficult for both the EU to participate and to continue to do the case that the Ukraine Friends need to support the country,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s reaction was fast and determinant, even if it was a little embarrassing for the MPs of the People’s Party, the People’s Party, who was ordered to vote for what they were ordered to vote for the previous week.

Now that the status quo is re -established, the entire section has two different readings. The person sees a leader who uses war -time forces to try to suppress independent institutions, and does not touch much to predict the obvious reaction. Another reflects how the Ukrainian society can still express democratic emotions, even during the time of war, and that its leaders can still react to it quickly.

Koziatynskyi, which started from the postal protest wave, leans towards the second opinion. “Protests showed that Ukrainian democracy was as strong as possible in a full -scale war periods and that our society was mature enough to establish dialogue with the government and listen to the government.

Zelenskyy’s five -year presidential period must have ended last year, but almost all Ukrainians, including their hardest competitors, accept that the elections are both legally and technically impossible during the war. As Russia’s night attacks continue, and Donald Trump finally began to become harder in Russia, this unity of consensus has not changed. Nobody wants turmoil, but the explosion of protest can yet change the political atmosphere.

“Legally, everything will go back to how it is; politically more complex,” Sovsun said. “It cannot be predicted that this may have done for the Ukrainian society.