The street must not replace the commander-in-chief, veteran Dmytro Koziatynskyi on the Cardboard Maidan

The build-up of public dissatisfaction in Ukrainian society could erupt into a social explosion during the next crisis if the authorities continue to ignore protests and fail to establish communication with society.

This was stated by veteran and one of the organizers of the “Cardboard Maidan,” Dmytro Koziatynskyi.

According to him, civil society in Ukraine is already mature enough to take to the streets to defend democratic institutions, and the street remains one of the few real levers of society’s influence on the authorities. At the same time, he believes personnel decisions in military leadership should remain the responsibility of the authorities, and claims against the military should be the subject of independent investigations.

Koziatynskyi said this during the discussion “Autumn–Winter 26–27: the main challenges of war, politics, society, business, and life-support systems” within “New Country,” a joint project of LB.ua and EFI Group.

LB.ua compiled the main theses from the discussion

Protests must defend institutions

Protests in Ukraine should be aimed primarily at defending democratic institutions, and civil society is already mature enough to take to the streets for them, says Dmytro Koziatynskyi.

Dmytro Koziatynskyi, veteran, one of the organizers of the ‘cardboard Maidan’

Speaking about this year’s Cardboard Maidan, Koziatynskyi noted that despite its strong association with a specific personality, he considers the protest successful: “We achieved the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Before the start of the protest no one even dreamed that Syrskyi would be removed, and that Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi would be appointed. That was a huge victory.”

At the same time, Koziatynskyi emphasized that establishing dialogue between the authorities and society has so far been unsuccessful: “The lack of communication was the primary reason for these protests. If the president or someone from the Office of the President had properly explained why the government of former Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and the defense minister were resigning, most likely there would not have been protests.”

Ignoring protests accumulates social frustration

Koziatynskyi believes the Office of the President has currently chosen a tactic of ignoring the protesters. In the short term, he says, this may reduce the number of people on the streets, but in the long term it accumulates public dissatisfaction. “If you ignore people, they will eventually disperse, but frustration and anger will not disappear,” he said.

According to Koziatynskyi, the accumulated discontent could manifest during the next crisis: “Obviously, protest potential is not infinite, and if people are ignored, at some point they will disperse. But the frustration and anger that arise when people are ignored will not go away — and this could lead to a situation where during the next crisis, and I am convinced there will be a next crisis, this dissatisfaction will spill over into a social explosion.”

Dmytro Koziatynskyi, veteran, one of the organizers of the ‘cardboard Maidan’

At the same time, Koziatynskyi emphasized that all current protests have been peaceful, but the accumulation of societal anger can create risks of radicalization.

“I don’t know how people will react next time. So far all these protests have been peaceful; I hope that will continue — but the anger building up in society could at some point lead to radicalization. I hope we, as a society, will not allow that,” he said.

Personnel decisions in the military must remain the authorities’ decisions

Separately, Koziatynskyi stressed that protesters should not directly determine personnel decisions in military leadership. “Under no circumstances should the street replace the commander-in-chief. Drapatyi’s appointment was the president’s decision,” he said.

At the same time, he said, a significant number of problems and conflicts have accumulated around Syrskyi, including with Fedorov, which already required resolution.

During one of the rallies in support of Fedorov

Koziatynskyi also spoke out against pressure on Syrskyi from protesters. If there are grounds for complaints against the general, he believes they should be established by an independent investigation. “Regarding Syrskyi I have repeatedly said: he must not be chased and lynched under crowd pressure. Certainly, there must be an investigation into him, but it must be unbiased and independent — protests should not influence it,” Koziatynskyi said.

The street remains a lever of society’s influence

Speaking about the state of Ukrainian democracy, Koziatynskyi noted that even amid a full-scale war Ukraine continues to retain democratic institutions. “For a young democracy in an existential war, we are doing very well. We still have democratic institutions, we have effective anti-corruption efforts, we are holding back the superior forces of the enemy at the front — and at the same time we still have democracy; we have not slid into authoritarianism,” he said.

According to Koziatynskyi, a full-scale war creates a tendency for any state to drift toward authoritarianism. The task of civil society is to restrain this process. “And our civil society, in my opinion, is currently coping with this task,” he added.

Among the factors that provide a system of checks and balances, Koziatynskyi named the anti-corruption vertical and the street. During the protests he said he was especially concerned to prevent discrediting the street itself.

“In a situation of certain political impotence of the Verkhovna Rada and the ministers, the street remains one of the few real levers. And under no circumstances should it be allowed to be discredited. So far, in my opinion, we are managing that,” Koziatynskyi said.

Dmytro Koziatynskyi, veteran, one of the organizers of the ‘cardboard Maidan’

Ukrainian society is capable of defending democracy

Koziatynskyi urged not to underestimate the changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society in recent years. “In our fifth year of the full-scale war we are able to sit here and calmly talk about democracy, and we are able to take to the streets and protest — and effectively and peacefully convey our position to the authorities. And as last year and partly this year have shown, the authorities are still able to hear us,” Koziatynskyi said.

The cardboard sign about Yevhen Khmara was a provocation

Separately during the discussion, the head of the Committee on National Health, Medical Care and Medical Insurance in the Verkhovna Rada, Mykhailo Radutskyi, asked Koziatynskyi about the cardboard sign reading “Khmara—devil” that appeared during the Cardboard Maidan (Yevhen Khmara assumed the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine 19 August 2026 year, – Ed.). Radutskyi emphasized that this concerns a combat general who has gone through a significant path during the full-scale war, and asked Koziatynskyi, as a veteran and serviceman, how he felt about such inscriptions.

Koziatynskyi replied that he views such manifestations negatively. He suggested that the appearance of the cardboard sign could have been a provocation. “Throughout all the protests I did not hear a single bad word about Mr. Khmara from participants. And the fact that this cardboard sign appeared on the last day and instantly spread across the media suggests to me that it was a provocation. And even if it wasn’t — thousands of people came to the protests, and you can’t control every single one,” he said.