The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, Anatoly Bondarenko, said that the city will resist prosecution for the decision of the municipal authorities to weaken the restrictive measures introduced due to the coronavirus epidemic.  

“Cherkasy will resist. Remember! Cherkasy is a free Cossack city and, if it is necessary to unite Ukraine, we will unite Ukraine, ”the mayor said in a video message addressed to the president on Facebook.  

Presidential pressure 

The reason for the conflict between the mayor of Cherkasy and the leadership of Ukraine was the decision of the city authorities to resume work on May 1 from most stores, catering establishments and open parks and green areas for residents of the city. This decision was made by the city authorities contrary to the decree of the Ukrainian government on universal quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Maxim Stepanov condemned the actions of the Cherkasy authorities and went to the city with a check. During a briefing for journalists, Stepanov said that 296 cases of the disease were confirmed in the region, including 9 fatal cases. At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Health emphasized that quarantine measures introduced by the government allowed avoiding the peak incidence of coronavirus in Ukraine.

  • Cherkass Mayor Anatoly Bondarenko
  • © Office of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Cherkasy region

Recall, as of May 2, Ukraine has confirmed more than 11 thousand cases of coronavirus. 1498 people recovered, 279 died.

The Interior Minister Arsen Avakov condemned the actions of the head of Cherkasy, who threatened Bondarenko with tough measures in connection with the decision of the city executive committee of Cherkassy to weaken restrictive measures.  

“Mr. Chairman of the city of Cherkasy, you played too much! Stop risking the health and lives of people for the sake of political games! The response will be tough, ”Avakov wrote on his Twitter. 

After that, a video message appeared on the Ukrainian president’s page on Facebook, in which Zelensky, among other things, conveyed “fiery greetings” to the mayor of Cherkassy from himself and the SBU, described the incident as “an attempt to earn political ratings at the cost of the life and health of city residents” and promised that the mayor’s actions “will have corresponding legal consequences”.    

On May 2, Anatoly Bondarenko posted a response video message on Facebook, in which he reminded Zelensky that it was in Cherkassy that he announced his intention to run for president, said that the head of state should first of all pay attention to his fellow businessmen who violate quarantine regime, and promised that the city would not surrender, and no one could intimidate him.

The mayor also published a photo of his summons. In it, Bondarenko is ordered to appear as a witness for interrogation at the SU GUNP on the fact of early weakening of sanitary measures. 

In turn, the police in Cherkasy region reported that a criminal proceeding was opened on the fact of a decision made in the city council to weaken quarantine. 

“The leadership of the city council defiantly ignores the demands of the Ukrainian government and deliberately endangers the townspeople and residents of the region during a pandemic,” the statement said on a police website.

In an interview with RT, Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin recalled that Ukraine is a unitary country, so regional leaders are directly subordinate to the president and, accordingly, must unconditionally comply with all his orders.   

“But the mayors of Ukraine’s cities are not, as it were, built into this vertical of power, so the mayor of Cherkasy considered that he can afford to act contrary to the order of the head of state,” the expert noted. 

In turn, a number of Ukrainian politicians have already condemned the actions of the president and government. So, a deputy of the Rada from the Batkivshchyna party, of which the mayor of Cherkasy is a member, lawyer Sergei Vlasenko called the threats from the president of Ukraine an obvious example of the political pressure of Vladimir Zelensky on local governments. Vlasenko also said that he sees in this the fact of pressure on the preliminary investigation bodies.

At the same time, the deputy emphasized that the decision to mitigate restrictive measures was not made personally by the mayor Bondarenko, but by the executive committee of the Cherkasy city council, which is a collegial body.  

“The criminal liability of members of the collegial body for the collegial decision of any bodies (the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, any local council, executive committees, etc.) is absent in the legislation of Ukraine,” the lawyer emphasized.  

Residents of Ukraine, representatives of small businesses who have been left without means of subsistence, are today putting pressure on local authorities to quarantine measures, said Mikhail Pogrebinsky, director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, in a RT commentary. 

“Given the country's financial capabilities, the president can do little in the current situation. However, he does not want to do anything to somehow solve this problem. Zelensky threatens the mayor of Cherkasy, but at the same time ignores violations by his deputies who go to restaurants when they should be closed, ”said the political scientist.  

However, according to the expert, threats from Vladimir Zelensky are not taken seriously.  

“Zelensky acts indecisively, no one perceives his statements as a real threat, therefore it is not surprising that Anatoly Bondarenko allows himself such statements,” the expert said.  

Poltava "battle"

It is worth noting that the situation related to the spread of coronavirus in Ukraine is not the first time leading to conflict situations in the country. 

Even before the introduction of restrictive measures and a special regime, at the end of February the Ukrainian authorities decided to quarantine 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreigners in a sanatorium near the village of Novye Sanzhary near Poltava. However, local residents staged a protest, which grew into riots. 

Dissatisfied residents of New Sanjar tried to block the passage, after which they threw stones and bottles at the buses. As Ukrainian media reported, protesters even threatened to set fire to the medical center along with people. 

  • President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
  • Reuters
  • © Stringer

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the incident "the monstrous dehumanization of civil society" and wondered whether the "guardians of democracy" really set Ukraine as an example to the whole world as a "model of progressive reforms."

In turn, Vladimir Zharikhin emphasized that such incidents occur due to the fact that Zelensky failed to form his own vertical of power for a year as president, and the vertical of power that Poroshenko created gradually began to crumble.  

“Zelensky is a weak and dependent president, so the demarche of the mayor of Cherkass may well remain without consequences. It is the weakness of the Ukrainian government that leads to such situations. If there was a strong president at the helm, he would find an opportunity to force the mayor to carry out his orders without public threats. Indeed, such incidents negatively affect his reputation, as they demonstrate the frank weakness of the presidential administration, ”the expert concluded.