Kiiv, Ukraine – the investment was almost as fast as the effusion of public fury. But the question is how much has tarnished the sudden crisis this week in Ukraine in the talisman image of its leader, a crucial man in the support of support at home and abroad for the fight against Russia.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seemed to reverse his attempt to confiscate radical powers on the National Office against Ukraine Corruption and the Office of the Prosecutor of Specialized Corruption. In saying that he heard the concerns of his people and the western sponsors, he has now introduced a law that said he would guarantee their independence, and the agencies themselves said they were satisfied.
Many Ukrainians are eager to point out that this open ears approach, taking immediate measures to remedy the problem, is a drastic change of past administrations that dismissed or even silenced such concerns.
But some fear that the damage can be done.
“For Zelenskyy, this is a serious crisis of legitimacy,” said Oleksandra Keudel, an assistant professor of public policies and governance at the kyiv Economics School, A NBC News in A Eorge. “I’m not sure it’s reversible.”
Now known as the leader of a camouflage covered war, Zelenskyy was a comedian chosen in 2019 who promised to highlight the corruption that has affected Ukraine since he won modern independence in 1991.
He was widely praised for his anti -corruption fight, adding fuel to the dismay for his grip of quixotic power.
The Ukrainians took to the streets of Miles, some shout “shame!” Outside the legislature in Kyiv.
With its Thursday of the legislative face, Zelenskyy at least has undone the immediate machinery that so concerned about observers, national and foreign.
“It is important that Ukrainians respond with such dignity to everything that is happening,” he said. He admitted in a conversation with journalists that “probably, there should have been a dialogue” before continuing with the law. “I am focused on the issue of war,” he added. “For me, it was very important that we listen and respond properly. People asked for changes. We replied.”
When comments on criticism were requested, Zelenskyy’s office referred NBC News to the comments made on Thursday.
What hurts the Ukrainians is the perception that the government could easily undo the hard progress won during the 2014 Maidan uprising that overthrew the leader backed by the Kremlin, Viktor Yanukovych.
Mykhailo Sobbaliev, an 18-year-old student, says that at that time, his father was the head of the Anti-In-Free Committee of Parliament and was directly involved in the establishment of the two bodies whose Zelenskyy power sought to stop.
When Russia launched her large -scale invasion, her father immediately enrolled in the territorial defense units that protect the capital, and is now fighting in Zaporizhzhia.
Sobaliev describes Zelenskyy’s law as “ugly” and “scandalous”, and knows that criticizing the government during the war is a gift for the enemies of Ukraine. But he sees public outrage as “a demonstration that democracy still exists and is alive.”
In fact, many here are eager to point out that protests, during a period of martial law when such great meetings can be restricted, would not be possible in Russia, which has brutally crushed dissenting exhibitions.
Many Ukrainians see this civic increase as intrinsically linked to the violence of dropout in the front line; If these values are not protected at home, why do troops fight?
The war has become “hard, very hard,” said Aristarkh, 50, a Ukrainian special forces officer, who like most Ukrainian soldiers only use a name for security reasons. “It is very difficult to stay motivated,” he said. However, “when I saw this number of people” protesting and “also fighting for their country,” he felt “incredible pride,” he added. “It simply raises its level of motivation an order of magnitude.”
Jessica Berlin, a member of the European Policy Analysis Center, a group of Washington experts, is a vocal defender of Ukraine. The initial law was one of Zelenskyy’s “worst political mistakes since the large -scale invasion began,” he said, breaking “the tacit contract between the Ukrainian government and the people he has maintained traumatic and exhausting for three years.”
The public “has refrained from mass protests” in “the good belief in good faith that the Government is doing everything to win the war and restore security without exceeding its powers of war or threatening democratic progress,” he said. But “for many Ukrainians, this bill crosses a red line.”
The opprovation was far from just domestic, with leaders throughout Europe expressing their concern and urging Zelenskyy to rethink.
Others fear that their position has been undermining in the long term.
“Until now, Zelenskyy and his team have been recognized as ‘good guys’,” said Drago Kos, former president of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and the Working Group on Bribuy in international commercial transactions.
But this week he has raised uncomfortable questions: “Why are” good “afraid of anti -corruption efforts within their own country?” said.
Daryna Mayer reported from Kyiv and Alexander Smith reported from London.
