All at once, it appears that the Zelensky regime is facing potential collapse, as key allies both domestically and internationally turn against it. The quick fall from grace for the Ukrainian president comes in the wake of a controversial law that has allowed him to seize power over independent anti-corruption agencies.
Politico
Politico, often seen as the mouthpiece of Brussels, just ran an article entitled: “Ukraine’s insidious enemy: Its own leadership.”
The website writes: “After gutting two key anti-corruption agencies (NABU and SAPO), Kyiv’s democratic backsliding has finally caught the world’s attention.”
It then goes on to refer to “the country’s own semi-autocratic leadership.”
According to Politico, opposition members and NGOs have been “long warning about this” as the presidential administration seizes more and more power, weakening other government and regional institutions – including the country’s parliament – while intimidating critics, waging smear campaigns against them, and branding them as Russian agents.
In “Brussels speak,” autocrats are the people who should be toppled from power. If Politico is calling Ukraine a “semi-autocratic” government, it may be a clear signal that the EU elite wants him gone.
Kyiv Independent
However, pressure is also coming internally, including from the extremely influential Kyiv Independent, which just ran an editorial entitled: “Zelensky just betrayed Ukraine’s democracy — and everyone fighting for it.”
The influential Kyiv Independent has strongly backed Zelensky throughout the war. The paper wrote that they warned about anti-democratic backsliding, and that it was now happening:
A parliamentary vote, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s lawmakers, today took away the independence of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption bodies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Zelensky signed it into law the same day.
Under the new law, the prosecutor general, a notoriously non-independent figure, will now oversee anti-corruption investigations — in a complete overturn of the system that was set up to be independent from other law enforcement bodies.
In reality, it means that Zelensky’s office will be able to stop investigations with a phone call.
Germany
One of Kyiv’s main weapons suppliers also seems to be reacting, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul writing on X that Zelensky “restricting the independence of the Ukrainian anti-corruption agency burdens the path of Ukraine into the EU. I expect Ukraine to consistently continue the fight against corruption. Therefore, I also met with the heads of NABU and SAPO in Kyiv.”
EU Commission
Ursula von der Leyen has also come under pressure to react to Zelensky’s power grab, but she fell short of saying anything substantive.
“The president of the European Commission was in contact with President Zelensky about these latest developments,” Guillaume Mercier, European Commission spokesperson, told Politico. “President von der Leyen conveyed her strong concerns about the consequences of the amendments, and she requested an explanation from the Ukrainian government.”
Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner, has also addressed the issue. Even before the law was approved, she wrote that the situation would harm Ukraine’s accession negotiations.
“Independent bodies like NABU and SAP are essential for Ukraine’s EU path,” she said.
Meanwhile, the G7 ambassadors in Kyiv issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” about the situation.
So far, the EU seems to be taking the most measured approach, perhaps waiting to see how the situation develops in Ukraine before taking any concerted action.
Ukrainian opposition
Lesia Vasylenko, an opposition MP from the pro-European Holos party, called the dismantling of the anti-corruption agencies a completely wrong decision.
Speaking to Politico, she said: “I am very proud of the Ukrainians who took to the streets to stand up for what is right and for the Ukraine that people really want.” But she also warned that “we are in very difficult times. The last thing we need is a revolution in the middle of a war.”
Opposition MP Mykola Knyazhytskyi also said the main reason for the agencies’ elimination was that they were targeting corruption cases involving people close to the president.
“NABU was close to indicting several extremely influential people, and the authorities urgently needed to defend themselves,” he told Politico.
He added that Zelensky and Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrii Yermak felt they could get away with restricting the agencies’ independence. “They believe that neither the EU nor the United States will be as interested in the activities of anti-corruption agencies as they were before, since they will still be forced to support Ukraine,” the politician said.
Zelensky responds with claims of “Russian agents”
In a speech on Tuesday night, Zelensky assured Ukrainians that he had no intention of undermining the work of anti-corruption agencies, suggesting that the changes were needed to protect the agencies from Russian influence.
“The anti-corruption infrastructure will only work without Russian influence – it needs to be cleaned up. And more justice is needed,” the Ukrainian president said. However, neither Zelensky nor Yermak presented evidence of how Moscow could have influenced any of the agencies.
Will Zelensky survive?
Despite the harsh response from the international press and the EU, as Knyazhytskyi notes, Zelensky knows he has plenty of cards to play due to the ongoing war, which is what enabled him to seize authoritarian powers in the first place.
The EU is likely to walk a tight rope by applying pressure to Zelensky, while still working to avoid undermining the morale of the country in its fight against Russia.
Much may depend on the domestic response of Ukraine’s people. If demonstrators continue to pressure Zelensky on the streets, those who have been waiting for a window of opportunity to remove him from power might take the chance.
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