A demonstration against the investment policy of the mayor's office in Odesa, Ukraine, on September 23, 2023.

As Ukraine's conflict continues to drag on, and in the shadow of an erupting Middle East, the war-torn country is quietly beginning a chapter democracies are all too familiar with. After the unity that defined the first few months of the war in February 2022, a period of public and critical debate on the country's authorities' decisions has begun. Voices within public opinion, the military and among elected representatives are challenging official discourse and aiming to influence it. Is such freedom of discussion a strength or a weakness, at a time when Ukraine is trying to push the Russian army out of its borders?

On September 27, in front of the large port city in southern Ukraine Odesa's town hall, mothers and wives of soldiers killed in action gathered, surrounded by several hundred people, including men. The city council was due to discuss tenders for the renovation of public buildings, including the courthouse. "We're here," explained protest organizer Kateryna Nozhevnikova, "to condemn the mayor's intention to invest in projects unrelated to the ongoing war."

A local figure who heads the Monsters Corporation foundation, Nozhevnikova said she does not question the legitimacy of the current government, despite fearing corruption. "We think he should be focusing on the war effort while he's back to his old ways and running the city as if our soldiers aren't dying every day on the front lines." She added, "We've already had results, they've promised to allocate some public funds to the purchase of drones, but that's not enough, we'll come back here as many times as necessary, we'll go to Kyiv if we have to."

A new Ukraine

"I'm here to share what I feel with other people, without fear of being arrested," said Tina, 37, whose husband is on the southern front. Anna, 41, was wearing her husband's jacket. He was killed by the Russians on September 25, 2022. "Odesa was known for its selfishness. This crowd is a first, it proves that things can change." Other similar demonstrations sprang up across the country in September, including in Lviv, Kyiv, Ternopil, Lutsk, Zhytomyr, Uzhhorod, and Bila Tserkva.

Their statements also resonate with the demands of the European Union, which is asking Ukraine's government and its administration to adapt, even in wartime, to the standards of democratic societies, with a view to possible EU membership. While the soldiers are fighting, there's also a question of winning another battle: that of the rule of law and a new Ukraine. "And why not a presidential election?" said one demonstrator. It was a prospect that was once supported by the US Congress for March 2024, the official end of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's term, but was since postponed for lack of funds and security.

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