Indefinite protest in Uman: link to MP Yatsenko and the court situation

Since the end of September, an indefinite protest action directed against city mayor Irina Pletnyova has been ongoing in Uman. Participants are demanding that she not be allowed to perform her duties after the court temporarily suspended the decision on her recall. Organisers present this event as the voice of the community, however, the chronology of events and the composition of participants indicate a direct link to People's Deputy Anton Yatsenko and the campaign he supports.

Fulfilment of a previous forecast

In early September, Anton Yatsenko publicly stated that if the court halted the recall process for Irina Pletnyova, a revolutionary situation could arise in Uman and a prolonged “Maidan” would begin.

On 16 September, the court indeed temporarily suspended the decision of the “For the Future” party to recall the mayor. Following this, Irina Pletnyova continued to exercise her powers, while Yatsenko’s lawyers began advocating for the cancellation of this judicial restriction.

Subsequently, the People's Deputy published an appeal to the city residents, calling on them to gather in the square at 12:00 on 26 September, which he described as the beginning of a “Maidan” in Uman.

Start of the action and conflict moments

On 26 September, about a hundred protesters gathered in the city centre. They voiced opposition to Pletnyova’s return to office, after which the organisers declared the action indefinite.

Conflict episodes occurred during the event. Video from the scene recorded part of the crowd chanting “Shame” at a war veteran. One of those present expressed outrage, stating that, in his words, the protest participants were ignoring the war that has been ongoing for 12 years and thereby helping Putin.

Irina Pletnyova herself describes what is happening as political revenge by Yatsenko and a manifestation of his personal ambitions.

Links between organisers and the People's Deputy

Olena Krainieva is among the co-organisers of the protest. She previously belonged to the initiative group that collected signatures for the mayor’s recall in the summer. Thus, individuals involved in the recall campaign became the organisers of the street action.

Valentin Khitruk, head of that same initiative group, published a call to join the protest on 10 October at 12:00 with placards. According to the registry on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, Khitruk is a public-basis assistant to Anton Yatsenko. Initiative group secretary Rostyslav Abramovsky also works as a staff assistant-consultant to the People's Deputy. On his Facebook page, Khitruk effectively duplicated Yatsenko’s posts.

The People's Deputy claims that the citizens organised themselves, and he merely supports their decision. However, in the summer, when announcing the signature collection, Yatsenko invited those willing to call him personally, promising to coordinate them with the organising committee, which, according to him, was created by the residents of Uman.

Chronology of the confrontation

The current protest is a logical continuation of a months-long conflict. Irina Pletnyova and Anton Yatsenko were once political allies, but, according to the mayor, their relations deteriorated with the start of the full-scale invasion due to disputes over funding for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and territorial defence. Yatsenko denies these accusations.

Key stages of the development of events:

• On 11 May 2026, the Cherkasy regional organisation of the “For the Future” party did not support the recall of eight deputies of the Uman City Council.
• On 25 May, Anton Yatsenko became the head of the organisation.
• On 31 May, the recall of eight city council deputies and seven regional council deputies was discussed at a meeting.
• On 11 June, the People's Deputy announced the intention to collect signatures for the recall of Irina Pletnyova herself.
• On 18 August, the initiative group submitted 6,710 signatures to the TVEC.
• On 7 September, the TVEC sent the documents to the party.
• On 8 September, the party congress adopted a decision to recall the mayor.

Members of the Territorial Electoral Commission (TVEC) claim that there were procedural violations during the collection and verification of signatures. Commission member Ihor Domansky notes that, according to the State Register of Voters, almost 99% of the verified ballots did not contain complete information, yet the commission recognised them as valid.

Reaction of city authorities and further prospects

On 24 September, two days before the start of the protest, the Uman City Council held an extraordinary session. Deputies adopted four appeals regarding the actions of Anton Yatsenko: to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, the NABU, and the SAP. These documents raised the issue of possible political pressure on local self-government and expressed a request to verify the MP’s actions for potential corrupt offences and abuse of power.

The legality of Irina Pletnyova’s recall is to be decided by the court, with the main hearing of the case ongoing. The confrontation, which began in party offices and near signature collection points, has moved to the city’s central square. Organisers assure that the action will continue indefinitely.