“All Hail the Opposition: Tymoshenko’s One-Woman Media Storm”

Source: Author’s Facebook page
Whenever a criminal case hits Ukrainian politics, one tactic is instantly deployed: claim the mantle of the main opposition—ideally, the only one. 

Presently, the information space is beginning to make a strange kind of noise: attacks are not targeting the source of the accusations but are being aimed sideways—at those completely uninvolved in the case.

While Yulia Tymoshenko must respond to the investigation’s questions, her media mouthpieces have decided that the real problem is not NABU or SAPO, but… European Solidarity.

Convenient. Very convenient.

This is an attempt to create an alternative reality: supposedly, the criminal case should be seen not as a corruption issue, but as a “political attack.” The narrative suggests that it is not law enforcement officers asking the questions, but some “scoundrels” and malicious opposition figures. This is a classic technique—fire into the air, but blame the neighbour.

Perhaps this is an attempt to fulfil long-standing obligations to the authorities, with whom “Batkivshchyna” has repeatedly found common ground during elections. Or perhaps it is simply a desire to claim the opposition flag at a time when things did not go according to plan.

But there is a nuance.

Cases are not decided in Telegram channels or on Facebook posts. They are considered in the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court. And it is there that the origin of the money must be explained, not political legends. Because if the bribery of deputies is proven, the question of “whose money” will become far more significant than any media hysteria.

By the way, the EU does not, in principle, attack anti-corruption bodies—not out of romanticism, but out of logic. They were created during Petro Poroshenko’s presidency, and it was then that those who do not now shout about “conspiracies” voted in favour of them.

And one more little thing.

The EU has remained in opposition for seven years now—without hysteria, without trading mandates, without “buying deputies” in the single-party majority. After all, the opposition is an alternative scenario for saving the country, not a bookkeeping exercise.

As a reminder, NABU and SAPO reported suspicions to MP, head of the Batkivshchyna faction Yulia Tymoshenko. The investigation examines the facts of bribery of parliamentarians for influencing their support or opposition to certain initiatives in the session hall. NABU also published audio recordings in the case of an alleged offer of an illegal benefit to MPs.

In response, Batkivshchyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko stated that she had nothing to do with the audio recordings released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. She also emphasized that she intends to prove her position in court.

On January 16, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for the head of the Batkivshchyna faction, Yulia Tymoshenko. The court set bail in the amount of over 33 million hryvnias and imposed several procedural obligations on her.

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