Ukraine’s Future in Their Hands
Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Kyiv after the initial passage of a controversial new bill, Law #12414, on July 22. This law stripped two major anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Office (SAPO), of their autonomy. The outcry against this legislation was swift, with rallies occurring in dozens of cities across the country, the largest of which occurred in Kyiv on July 23 with 9,000 people in attendance.
The best represented contingent of society at these protests was that of young Ukrainians, who have also been called the children of Maidan. Many protesters cited the Maidan of 2013–14 as a life-changing moment, the spirit of which they have carried forward more than ten years later with their calls for stronger institutions and Ukraine’s European integration.
Important to note is that organizers of this grassroots movement, such as Zinaida Averina, 23, have stated that they were rallying for reform institutions, not against Zelenskyy’s government. In an interview with the Kyiv Post, Averina explained that amid Ukraine’s wartime efforts, she and her fellow organizers support their government.
This youth-led anti-corruption movement is explicitly built around strengthening Ukraine’s institutions. Instead of being diametrically opposed to parties in power, Ukrainian activists have framed their advocacy as constructive, generative, and beneficial to all sectors of society. As Vanya Vinska, a 19-year-old protester, emphasized to Reuters, all Ukrainians need a flourishing, free state.
The fact that this protest movement is not targeted at a political party, and instead is centered around strengthening institutions, may indicate positive developments for Ukraine’s future political culture. This past week has heralded a maturing generation of activists who will protest for their fellow citizens’ collective interests, instead of against a particular organization or figure. In carrying forward the legacy of Maidan as a nation-building moment, Ukrainian youth have modeled a positive, future-forward philosophy for activism that can be applied to other protest movements as well.
A new bill restoring the autonomy of NABU and SAPO was passed into law in the Verkhovna Rada on July 31. This bill, which backtracks on the restrictions implemented by Law #12414, was introduced after Zelenskyy admitted that the nationwide protests had "not fallen on deaf ears". With the passage of this bill, the capacity of NABU and SAPO to investigate high-ranking officials on charges of corruption was restored. And Ukrainian society has their next generation of political leaders to thank for it.