When Ukrainian Gen Z hit the streets to defend anti-corruption agencies, they turned protest signs into an art form. Armed with cardboard, markers, and three years of war-induced gray hair, they created what might be the most literate protest movement in recent memory.

These weren’t your typical angry slogans. Protesters quoted Taras Shevchenko alongside modern poets, mixed classical Ukrainian literature with creative profanity, and crafted messages that read like Twitter threads gone beautifully offline. “Do cattle low when NABU is whole?” riffed on 19th-century novels. “Nations don’t die of heart attacks—first their NABU and SAPO are taken away” played with national poetry. And yes, plenty of signs just said “fuck” in various creative arrangements.

Political experts later explained why the profanity worked so well: it desacralizes power and connects educated protesters with ordinary voters. Basically, when you tell authorities “you’re wrong,” you stay polite. When you say “you’ve lost your fucking minds,” you’re questioning whether they deserve power at all. Guess which one scares politicians more.

The result? President Zelenskyy backed down in 72 hours. Turns out democracy responds better to cardboard signs and literary references than most people expected.

Law 12414 would have transferred control of Ukraine’s main anti-corruption bodies—NABU and SAPO—to a presidentially-appointed prosecutor general. These agencies were created after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity as independent watchdogs. For protesters, many of whom had relatives who died creating these institutions, the law felt like betrayal from within.

After three days of protests, Zelenskyy announced he would submit new legislation preserving the agencies’ independence. Sometimes the pen—or marker—really is mightier than the sword.

More about the Gen Z that nobody expected

They came. They cussed. They won.

Confused about the law? We’ve got you:

Explained: why Ukraine nuked its own anti-corruption agencies

While Ukraine fights for survival, European politicians are retreating into familiar appeasement patterns—abandoning their post-2022 transformation promises for the comforts of pre-war diplomacy that now threaten the continent’s own security.

“I talk to Putin; therefore, I exist.”
— Raphaël Glucksmann

Macron’s two-hour Putin call sparks backlash

French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann delivered a scathing critique after French President Emmanuel Macron held a two-hour call with Vladimir Putin on 1 July—his first direct contact since September 2022. Glucksmann warned that this return to Moscow engagement signals an “atavistic inconsistency that condemns us Europeans.”

“It was inevitable. We all sensed it was going to happen. And it did.”

According to the Élysée readout, the conversation focused more on Iran’s nuclear program than Ukraine, sparking concern that Ukraine is being deprioritized despite Russia’s brutal war now in its fourth year.

Post-invasion promises abandoned

Glucksmann, a staunch Ukraine supporter in the European Parliament’s Socialists & Democrats Alliance, condemned the conversation as evidence that Europe has abandoned its post-invasion commitments.

“A few weeks after our leaders’ passionate call for a great European awakening, it’s back to ‘I talk to Putin; therefore, I exist.”

He described Macron’s behavior as narcissistic, and Europe’s broader response as a retreat from the promised “mental revolution.”

“Our leaders had sworn we’d entered a new world that required a new Europe… a transition to adulthood.”

That awakening, he writes, has collapsed.

“Heads that briefly emerged from the sand are quietly returning to their natural habitat. Nice and warm and comfortable.”

“Hyperactive passives” and performative politics

Glucksmann characterized European political behavior as fundamentally dysfunctional.

“Most of us have always been amazed at how Western apathy is paradoxically characterized by constant frenzy. We Europeans are strange people, hyperactive passives in a sense.”

He described EU leaders as “jumping on every news ball without catching any, commenting on every news item in an equally serious voice, going around in circles wagging our tails with a serious air, moving from subject to subject, country to country, problem to problem without ever changing our tone.”

This scattered approach produces nothing meaningful. “When everything is fundamental, nothing matters. Bees forage like us, of course, but they produce something as they fly from flower to flower. Not Europeans; not us.”

“Our fluttering has no effect.”

Putin normalized via Iran

Glucksmann condemned the strategic logic behind renewed Putin engagement. “The tyrant who is waging war on Europe—because that is what is happening in Ukraine and beyond—is once again acceptable because he is the godfather of the Iranian regime and can bring France—perhaps, with a little luck and a dash of goodwill—back into the diplomatic game in the Middle East.”

In the official communiqué, Iran received three times more attention than Ukraine, with both presidents—Macron and Putin—agreeing to “coordinate their approaches and to speak again soon” on Tehran while disagreeing on Ukraine.

“Ukraine is still entitled to a few lines in this communiqué, of course, with a reminder of our commitment to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We will move forward together on Iran, but it’s still wrong to invade a European country, isn’t it? Powerful, indeed.”

Can France keep its word to Ukraine with new CAESAR contracts stacking up?

The existential stakes for Europe

Glucksmann emphasized why this war demands sustained European focus.

“This war is different, not in itself, not for everyone, not for ‘the world’ in general, but for us, here in Europe. Yes, for us: for us, Europeans. Why? Because it is taking place on our soil and it is targeting us.”

European security services understand the broader threat. “We have heard our security services tell us that it is only a prelude. Because we have seen the head of the German Special Services warn of the likely invasion of a NATO country before 2029.”

Yet political leaders ignore these warnings.

“We hear, we see, yes. Then we forget. NATO chief Mark Rutte calls Donald Trump ‘Daddy’ at the NATO summit, and Macron phones Putin to talk about Iran’s nuclear program. Back to normal, then.”

Europe’s “luxury TikTokers”

Glucksmann described current leadership as engaging in “great Western zapping that is turning our political leaders into luxury TikTokers” while avoiding sustained focus on continental defense needs.

Despite this broader failure, Glucksmann identified those maintaining proper focus: “…some of us try to stay focused on European defense, the Russian threat, American abandonment, and the aid we must provide to Ukraine, our first line of defense in a confrontation that will last for a long time to come.”

He warned of civilizational consequences from this approach: “Such atavistic inconsistency condemns us Europeans. If we don’t change—our leaders, but above all our relationship to the world and to time—we will sink and drown.”

Ukraine remains Europe’s defining challenge

Glucksmann concludes with clarity:

“Because our future is being decided there. And that is where we can and must make a difference.”

The Macron-Putin conversation occurred as Russia maintains occupation of approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory while conducting daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities. Putin demanded that any peace deal be “based on new territorial realities,” effectively requiring Ukrainian territorial concessions.

French officials say Macron informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before and after the call—but Glucksmann sees that as symbolism without substance.

Raphaël Glucksmann is a French MEP known for his unwavering support of Ukraine. He has been a vocal critic of the “incremental” military aid strategy, urging Western leaders to deliver a “full package”—air defense, long-range missiles, aviation—to ensure Ukraine can win.

Glucksmann champions the idea of seizing frozen Russian assets—up to €300 billion—to fund Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction, describing it as a vital “war‑economy” measure and calling out political hesitancy across Europe.

Glucksmann also promotes pro‑European unity, support for Ukraine, human rights (notably against China’s Uyghur persecution), and strengthening EU democracy and security. For him, supporting Ukraine is not just solidarity—it’s the defense of European democracy.