Zelensky picks a fight with Ukraine’s Western-backed elites – and it may backfire
Ukraine is seeing its first mass protests since the start of the conflict with Russia – and they’re not about battlefield losses or conscription raids, but corruption. Or rather, a particular kind of corruption: the kind linked to Vladimir Zelensky’s attempts to seize control of the anti-corruption agencies.
Since July 22, thousands have taken to the streets chanting “Ganba!” (“Shame!”), echoing the spirit of past Maidan uprisings. But this is no popular revolt. It’s a turf war – an internal power struggle between two rival camps in Ukraine’s elite.
On one side are Zelensky and his right-hand man, Andrey Yermak – let’s call them the “Office faction,” based in Bankova Street. On the other are the foreign-funded NGOs, intelligence-linked assets, and the remnants of former President Pyotr Poroshenko’s political machine. These include the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) – bodies created at the West’s insistence to impose external control over Ukrainian politics.
The spark was a recent bill rammed through the Rada in emergency mode. The law stripped NABU and SAPO of their autonomy and placed them under the control of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General – effectively, Zelensky’s office. In other words, the very agencies tasked with investigating corruption must now report to the people they’re meant to investigate.
Unsurprisingly, the “anti-corruption” camp cried foul. But this isn’t really about clean government – it’s about influence. For years, NABU and SAPO operated as instruments of Western leverage, particularly from the Democratic Party establishment in Washington. They answered more to US and EU embassies than to the Ukrainian people. And Zelensky has finally had enough.
The timing is no accident. With Donald Trump back in power, the institutional support once enjoyed by the Poroshenko-era clique is fading. Zelensky saw an opening – and struck.
His first move came earlier this year with corruption cases targeting Poroshenko himself. Now, he’s gone after the crown jewels of Western liberal influence in Kiev. The message is clear: there is to be no parallel power structure. The president wants full control.
But it may be a gamble too far. Western European officials, already frustrated with Kiev’s domestic conduct, quickly warned that Ukraine’s EU accession bid could be blocked. The opposition, sensing blood, brought people into the streets – and unlike previous protests, these gained traction fast. On Wednesday, the Bankova realised the crowd wasn’t going home.
The real question now is whether Zelensky will stand firm or retreat. Early in his presidency, he was terrified of sharing Viktor Yanukovich’s fate and often folded under public pressure. But war changes men. He now rules over a cleansed political landscape, has a wartime excuse to quash dissent, and is backed by a disciplined vertical of power. Yermak, a ruthless operator, may urge him to dig in.
Yet the risks are considerable. Zelensky has never managed to convince Western Europe that he’s irreplaceable. If Brussels decides to pull the plug – financially or politically – his position could unravel fast. The same donors who once backed him could soon be shopping for a more pliant successor.
And even if he climbs down and restores NABU and SAPO’s powers, the damage is done. The opposition has momentum. Western backers will start asking tough questions. And the illusion of Zelensky as a unifying, democratic wartime leader will take another hit.
None of this means Ukraine is headed for collapse – but it does suggest Zelensky is more vulnerable than he appears. His grip on power now depends on how far he’s willing to go to silence opposition, both foreign and domestic. If he wins this standoff, he’ll emerge as the undisputed master of Ukraine. If he loses, it could trigger a slow bleed of authority that leads to a political reckoning.
The most likely outcome? A messy stalemate. Zelensky may backtrack enough to appease the EU but not enough to restore full control to the Western-funded agencies. The protests may fizzle or grow, depending on how much oxygen the opposition and its foreign patrons can pump in.
But whatever happens, one thing is clear: Ukraine’s politics are fracturing again. The West’s man in Kiev is no longer playing by the West’s rules. And his enemies – both at home and abroad – are watching closely.
For now, all we can do is enjoy the show. And hope it runs a while longer.
This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team
