/ Anti-corruption demonstration Lviv, Ukraine

In July 2025 I went back to Ukraine and my first stop is Lviv, where I run into a demonstration in the city centre.

There’s been unrest Lviv and other Ukrainian cities for days, not just due to the massive Russian drone and missile attacks, but because a new generation is taking to the streets—just like their elders did before them—because they value democracy.

They’re fed up with the corruption that once paralyzed the country and left its people powerless. There’s a strong demand for government transparency. For the past 3.5 years, the people here have been living through a devastating, large-scale war. Despite this, they continue to support President Zelensky, who remains widely popular.

But it’s frustrating for them to see that the anti-corruption organizations, which were once a strong focus for Zelensky’s government, are now being stripped of their powers due to a controversial new law. Although this law is quickly being revised under pressure from both inside and outside the country, the population remains cautious and wary.

Of course, Russian propaganda and the MAGA movement in the U.S. will try to exploit this situation, portraying the country as a failed state unable to clean up its act. But I believe this is actually a positive development—a logical step towards a modern European democracy where checks and balances are constitutionally enshrined.

The fact that people can protest freely across the entire country (didn’t see any police presence in Lviv) during wartime shows that Ukraine’s democratic values are being respected. Try doing that in Russia.