Anti-Maidan Pushes Boundaries: The Struggle for Ukraine’s Soul
фото: "Радіо Свобода"
Source: Author’s Facebook page
To grasp the full picture of current events, it’s essential to look back and forward—at least a few weeks—and understand the broader context. The searches and accusations against Vitaliy Shabunin are part of the same pattern as the “mobilization” of Bohdan Butkevych.
A demonstrative and sudden refusal to comply with the law on the appointment of the head of the BEB, accompanied by the noise of Telegram trash and cheerful comments from PR teams.
Raids on businesses, with searches for absurd accusations of “tax evasion” and even “high treason.”
Searches of relatives of EU People’s Deputy Nina Yuzhanina.
Confiscation of diplomat Konstantin Yeliseyev’s phone during searches.
Violation of the rights of local communities—from Rivne to Chernihiv, from Sumy to Kyiv.
And finally, “sanctions” against Petro Poroshenko, along with over a hundred other “cases.”
This is only what lies on the surface—in headlines and reports by European institutions and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
All these are manifestations of the same phenomenon: Anti-Maidan is testing the limits.
After the Revolution of Dignity, trampling on the Constitution and the law, ignoring the views of allies, and dismissing public opinion—especially when it is not shaped by government propaganda—became unacceptable.
Even after 2019, those in power seemed to recognize certain limits. This frustration echoes in every line of the late Portnov’s Telegram smear campaign, as well as in Zelenskyy’s spring 2020 phrase: “I was ready to hang, and it would have been faster, but we chose democracy.”
Now, however, it appears that Bankova is enjoying the privileges of impunity, against a backdrop of growing fear for their future. A dangerously volatile mix.
From a detached perspective, the following conclusions emerge:
– A monopoly on power must never be allowed.
– Lawbreakers within the security forces must be held accountable, because unpunished evil returns and takes revenge for the fears felt during the power shifts after Maidan.
– Even stronger safeguards are needed to prevent arbitrariness.
Ukraine still has not fulfilled these promises. Attempts to turn it into a dictatorship only diminish those chances, because in clashes of authoritarian regimes, power is measured by the number of bayonets and the volume of money.
Yet, some on Bankova believed things would be different — that “no one would want to quarrel with Ukrainian authorities during the war.”
This situation has become very advantageous for them. So, they challenge everyone:
– Political opponents, showing they can crush anyone as long as others hope it will pass;
– Civil society, through high-profile purges that undermine the vaunted civic solidarity Ukrainians once cherished;
– Journalists, cynically invoking mobilization laws they have repeatedly broken;
– Entrepreneurs, proving that the so-called “rear security forces” are the most ruthless raiders;
– And ultimately, partners, hiding behind the excuse: “Don’t give us money, or you’ll be Putin’s henchmen.”
Escaping this noose will require unity. Because Bankova’s dream country is unfit for Ukrainian life. Those who dissent have already been urged to emigrate, but Ukrainians have always found other ways to confront such challenges.
It seems the call to resist dictatorship is being issued once again.
As a reminder, on July 11, the State Bureau of Investigation conducted searches at the home of Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Center. The SBI claims that for a long time, he did not appear at his place of duty, receive a salary, and used a car intended for the military. Subsequently, SBI officers reported the Ukrainian activist to the police on suspicion of evasion of duty and fraud.
The Anti-Corruption Center commented on the searches, stating that Zelensky is building a corrupt authoritarianism during martial law, and the cases against Shabunin are a show of force to demonstrate that the authorities can do anything to anyone in the country, no matter how absurd it may seem. The CPC team suggests that this could have happened because of criticism of the Office of the President and Andriy Yermak personally.
As the People’s Deputy from the “European Solidarity” Sofia Fedyna stated on the air of “Pryamyi”, the President’s Office announced a hunt for public activists, the opposition, and military personnel who criticize the current government, involving the State Bureau of Investigation in the persecution, which has already turned into “Bankova’s tame hyena.”
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