Skip to content
Edit post

Thousands of protesters demand Zelensky’s resignation

by Oleg Sukhov December 1, 2021 9:18 AM 1 min read
(Oleg Petrasiuk)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Several thousand protesters gathered in central Kyiv on the evening of Dec. 1 to demand President Volodymyr Zelensky’s resignation over what they see as his concessions to the Kremlin.

The protesters zeroed in on Zelensky’s statement earlier the same day that he’s not afraid of direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in the Donbas. Zelensky made his comments as part of his annual address in parliament.

Demonstrators also lambasted Zelensky for the foiled operation to capture 33 Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in 2020. The militants were reportedly lured to Belarus by the Ukrainian intelligence which intended to capture the mercenaries by forcing their plane to land in Ukraine while en route from Minsk to Istanbul.

Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak reportedly delayed the operation by several days, soon after which it failed. According to Vasyl Burba, the former head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Yermak said he was acting on Zelensky’s orders. Yermak denied the allegations.

The president’s office has been changing its narrative about the Wagner operation. First, they denied its existence. Later, Zelensky said he knew and disapproved of the operation.

The protesters also demanded the dismissal of Yermak and two other top officials: deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Ruslan Demchenko, whom they accuse of being pro-Kremlin, and Oleh Tatarov, a bribery suspect and former top police officer under pro-Kremlin ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. The protesters also called for early parliamentary elections.

The protest was attended by the far-right organization National Corps, ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party and the Democratic Axe party.

The date of the rally had been scheduled at a previous anti-Zelensky protest a week ago.

On Nov. 26, the president said that the Kremlin is preparing a coup scheduled for Dec. 1 or 2 and claimed that there are audio recordings of Ukrainians and Russians discussing oligarch Rinat Akhmetov’s alleged participation.

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

2:51 PM

Lavrov accuses Armenia of trying to ‘break off’ relations with Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Armenia of “distorting history” in an attempt to “break off” relations with Moscow, he said in an interview on March 28. Armenia has further sought to distance itself from Russia - repeatedly accusing Moscow of being an unreliable partner.
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
12:06 AM

Media: Rosatom's top manager arrested over suspicion of bribery.

The Basmanny court in Moscow arrested on March 28 Gennadiy Sakharov, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom's construction project director, due to the accusations of receiving a bribe in "a particularly large amount," Russian media outlet Kommersant reported.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.