It is no surprise since he has failed the exam of democracy.
Against the backdrop of an attempt by President Zelenskyy and his entourage to eliminate the influence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies – NABU and SAPO – crucial questions arise concerning the legitimacy of Ukraine’s political leadership. Given the recent developments in Ukraine in late July, all these questions are highly relevant and reasonable.
In light of recent events, the first question cannot be other than the following: who in Ukraine and abroad can still believe Zelensky and his team?
If you missed this scandalous story, here is a brief summary:
On 21 July, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted around 80 searches targeting 19 NABU employees across various regions, reportedly without court warrants. (NABU and SAPO, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies investigated cases involving government officials.) The NABU detectives have been charged with treason, illegal trade with Russia, and corruption in the interests of oligarchs. On 22 July, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada voted in favour of draft law No. 12414, making NABU and SAPO dependent on the decisions of the prosecutor general. Zelenskyy signed it into law that evening. Following that, protests were held in many cities across Ukraine. The European Commission and other European institutions called on President Zelenskyy to restore the independence of the anti-corruption bodies. The EU delivered a warning to Kyiv that unless the Ukrainian parliament fully revoked the provisions of law No. 12414, financial support would be suspended. At the same time, Zelenskyy also faced criticism from the US as supporter of Donald Trump, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned the adopted law, calling the Ukrainian president a dictator, adding that protests took place because he is refusing to sign a peace agreement with Russia. On 24 July, Zelenskyy submitted a draft law No. 13533 on the restoration of the independence of NABU and SAPO. On 31 July, the Verkhovna Rada passed the law restoring powers to the anti-corruption bodies. The European Commission welcomed Ukraine’s restoration of anti-corruption agencies’ independence. Zelenskyy signs law restoring power to anti-corruption bodies – POLITICO
As a direct consequence of this extremely complex story, public trust in President Zelenskyy has dropped from 65% in June to 58%, according to the latest poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. The survey was launched the day after the Ukrainian parliament voted on controversial bill No. 12414 concerning the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, so this event undoubtedly had an impact on the poll results. Press releases and reports – Dynamics of trust in President V. Zelenskyy in 2019-2025
On 21 July, the day of the raids, Ukrainian Pravda suggested three reasons for the attack on NABU and SAPO that are worth mentioning:
(1) The government really wants to purge the agencies of suspected Russian agents.
(2) Zelenskyy’s Office seeks to undermine the agencies, framing it as a fight against Russian influence.
(3) The Presidential Office seeks to gain access to classified materials on anti-corruption investigations against government officials.
In addition, the Ukrainian newpaper’s sources claimed that the Office of the President had directly ordered the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to eliminate the anti-corruption bodies’ influence. This means that Andriy Yermak himself was behind this dirty story. According to the same sources, the case of Deputy Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksii Chernyshov was a turning point as it demonstrated how powerless the ruling elite can be when NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors, armed with hard evidence obtained from the CIA, get to one of its representatives. ”Special operation” against anti-corruption agencies involved head of Zelenskyy’s office, prosecutor general and lawyer acquaintance | Ukrainska Pravda
Yermak wanted to save Chernyshov – and, presumably, other government officials from the President’s inner circle, – by transferring the case from NABU to the office of the new prosecutor general – a body controlled by the President’s Office.
As is well-known, Oleksii Chernyshov was Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister for National Unity of Ukraine from December 2024 to July 2025. On 27 June, the High Anti Corruption Court set bail of UAH 120,002,668 (approximately US$2.93 million) for Chernyshov, who is suspected of abuse of office and large scale bribery. Following this, strangely enough, Zelenskyy’s close friend Chernyshov, was allowed to keep his job.
At a certain point, amid demonstrations across Ukraine and sharp criticism on behalf of EU officials, Zelenskyy realized that this was a slippery slope and decided to correct his mistake regarding the SAPO and the NABU. He said he ’does not want to risk anything’ concerning Ukraine’s European path and assured international partners that he would find a way out of the situation caused by the adoption of the controversial law. He then submitted a new bill restoring the indepence of the anti-corruption agencies. Why are Ukrainians mad at Zelenskyy? – POLITICO
Despite taking this measure, he can still be accused of undermining Ukraine’s path to EU membership. Due to Kyiv’s actions, Ukraine’s dialogue with the EU is likely to remain frozen. Marta Kos, the EU’s enlargement commissioner was right to point out that the European Union ’viewed the passing of the first law as a setback in implementing the seven European Commission recommendations that were a condition for Ukraine’s candidate status’. Kyiv’s mayor and rival of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Klitschko, was also right to join the protests in Kyiv to express his disappointment with Zelenskyy and the government. Protests in Ukraine as Zelensky signs bill targeting anti-corruption bodies
Anyone who supports democracy would likely agree that the attack on NABU and SAPO is unacceptable. As protests across Ukraine have clearly showed, such abuse of power is unacceptable not only in the EU but also in Ukraine.
Ukraine has successfully passed the democracy test, but President Zelenskyy has failed that same exam. He has crossed red lines. The question is when the consequences of his huge mistake will become apparent. Given that the US – the birthplace of democracy – would undoubtedly welcome a new, democratically elected leadership in Ukraine, we probably won’t have to wait too long for this to happen.
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