“People are tired of him.” The expert warns: Ukraine in a “dizzying pace” is heading towards autocracy
Ibrahim Naber: During the protests in Kiev, many demonstrators expressed fear that their country was heading towards autocracy.
Daria Kaleniuk: This is already happening – at a dizzying pace. Perhaps Zelanski is under huge pressure, but it seems that he no longer wants a free country and democratic control mechanisms.
Perhaps he is inspired by countries such as Türkiye. It seems that currently everyone is an enemy for him – both at home and abroad. And that's how authoritarianism is born.
What is your explanation for activities against anti -corruption organs?
Zielnski and Jermak (head of the president's office) seem to assume that at some point we will suspend weapons with Russia, and the election can be part of such a scenario. And that's how they prepare for it. They are already taking care of winning these elections. They know that they are unable to win democratic choices.
Where does this idea come from? According to all surveys, Zełnski is still one of Ukraine's most popular politicians.
He will not win democratic choices. People are too tired – him and his style of government. Zelanski communicates well outside, especially with the international world. But inside the country he passed power to several close associates, especially to Jermak.
And this is what leads to errors, delays in processes, also in the defensive sector. People are outraged by this. Many do not say this loud, especially in the armed forces, because martial law applies, and with it censorship. And some kind of self -censorship. But people are fed up.
“It was a clear violation of all obligations”
For many, protests against the Ukrainian government were a surprise. Not for you. Why?
The American factor is very important. Over the years, the United States has played a key role in the protection and implementation of reforms in Ukraine – from the US embassy here in Kiev, to the president.
When Biden's administration gave way, unfortunately, neither the EU nor any other took over this role – the role of “adult”, who openly talks to Ukrainian leaders, especially with President Zelnski, about the importance of reforms.
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Not using mild diplomatic messages, but in clear, direct conversations. EU leaders were only busy repairing damaged relations between Zelanski and Trump.
What exactly happened since the Biden government dismissed?
Already at the end of January 2025, i.e. immediately after the change of presidential administration in the USA, the first attacks on reforms began. They were first directed against the Ukrainian Defense Order Agency. This agency has actually been liquidated. It was an independent body responsible for public procurement in the field of defense, with a supervisory board ensuring transparency and balance of power.
However, the Minister of Defense Rust (incumbent from September 2023 to July 2025) and the head of presidential administration Andrij Jermak decided that they no longer want these control mechanisms.
They dismissed members of the supervisory board who voted in favor of extending the contract of the then director of the agency, and replaced them with the minister's loyalists. It was a clear violation of all obligations. However, this did not happen to any international reaction.
But you raised the alarm.
Yes of course. We protested against this in Ukraine – there were no street protests at the time, but in the country it was widely informed about it. We explained the risk, we contacted our international partners and clearly showed them how dangerous this development is.
We said: if you let it, if you “swallow”, then the Ukrainian government will go even further with its actions. And that's how it happened.
“A slander campaign is underway”
In July, the Ukrainian special services carried out dozens of raids on activists and people fighting corruption. The house of Vitaliy Szabunin was also searched, which together with you founded the “Anti -Corruption Action Center”.
Only three searches were carried out – without any court order. They took his cell phone, phones of his children and his wife.
Under what pretext?
Absurd. He was supposed to avoid military service and cheat the state. And yet in February 2022 he voluntarily joined the armed forces of Ukraine – so it has been used for over three and a half years. The allegations apply to four months of 2022, when Sabunin was delegated to the National Corruption Prevention Agency (NACP) to work on anti -corruption projects in the field of defense.
And now they say [ukraińskie władze]that this delegation was a form of refusal to serve – despite the fact that at that time there was an official command of command issued at the request of the National Corruption Agency (NACP). Then they accuse him that he received 4,000 during the relegation. $ 500 (over PLN 16,000, counting at the current exchange rate) pay – that is, the money that he should not have received.
Last Tuesday, a court hearing took place, during which investigators and prosecutors with retrograde power legalized all these searches. They agreed “preventive measure”: Vitaly must return to the village where he is stationed and cannot leave it. He is not allowed to talk to anyone.
House arrest?
From a legal point of view, this is not a house arrest – but in fact it is exactly the same. We know why they are attacking him. Our organization is one of the few institutions that identify attacks on national anti -corruption bodies – NAB and SAP (special anti -corruption prosecutor's office). We have worked on this anti -corruption infrastructure for over 10 years. Vitalija's voice is one of the most famous in the country.
He openly criticizes Zelanski and all leading politicians. And that's why they want to silence him. They want to discredit him – with these raids, repression. The slander is underway against him and against us, mainly through anonymous channels on the Telegram platform. I will be one of the next people against whom they will take action.
Where does this idea come from?
Because Vitaly cannot speak as loudly as it used to be, I took over this role. All law enforcement agencies – police, financial investigators and others – are currently trying to analyze the data from the Vitalija mobile phone. This information also relates to the manner of operating the Anti -Corruption Action Center. They will try to accuse us of laundering dirty money, allegedly confusing the subsidy.
They will claim that we are stealing taxpayers from abroad, we do not pay taxes, we harm you. They will find some way. They don't mean evidence anymore. They want to attack the entire institution.
Protests in Kiev, 24 July 2025Dan Bashakov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images / Contributor / Getty Images
The climax of this whole madness were raids this week. The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation conducted 80 searches for 15 officials of various anti -corruption organs and their families. At the same time, information leaking from these searches appeared on the anonymous channels on the Telegram platform. None of these raids was supported by a court order.
Ukrainian special services justified the raids by the accusation that some Nabu investigators helped Ukrainians escaping. One of the employees was even to work for Russian special services. Also President Zielnski talks about “Russian influence” in these organizations.
The allegations apply to two employees. One of them had – as claimed – to sell drugs to Dagestan through his family. Cannabis. Is the Russian spy now? The question is: how has it proved at all?
The second employee belongs to the NAB special services. He is accused of transferring data to the former bodyguard Yanukovych (a former pro -Russian president of Ukraine, overthrown during the Revolution of Dignity at Maidan in 2014). However, also in this case the evidence seems weak. The whole thing looks fabricated.
