The front is coming: in Odesa, protesters against inappropriate procurement stood along the street

On Saturday, December 14, the participants of the "Money for the Armed Forces" campaign traditionally gathered in the center of Odesa, but this time not on Deribasovskaya Street, but along Preobrazhenskaya Street.

An Int'l correspondent observed the action.

The activists traditionally held posters with inscriptions criticizing what they consider to be inappropriate procurement by the authorities and reminders of the war such as "The front is coming" and "20% of the budget for the front".

On Saturday, December 7, participants of the traditional Saturday campaign "Money for the Armed Forces" held a rally in front of the main city Christmas tree on Deribasovskaya Street in Odesa.

Since last year, more than 50 such actions have taken place in Odesa. For example, on August 24, several dozen activists lined up along Preobrazhenska Street on Soborna Square to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the protests.

The March 23rally became the 29th only because the rally on Saturday, March 2, was canceled due to the Day of Mourning. So the September 30 rally became the anniversary rally.

The first rally took place on August 28, 2023, when the Odesa City Council approved the allocation of 106 million for the repair of the Kyiv District Court and Kateryna Nozhevnikova, head of the Monster Corporation charity foundation , announced a picket outside the Odesa City Council. But this year, August 28 is a Wednesday.

The single picket of the Odesa volunteer turned into a mass rally because of the desire of Odessans to support the volunteer.

More than 100 people came to the rally, and since then the rallies have become a tradition. Kateryna Nozhevnikova also said that she was ready to come to the city hall every day to prevent such senseless spending of budget funds.

In November 2023, Kateryna Nozhevnikova decided to stop protesting, satisfied that the Odesa City Council had decided to cancel the procurement. However, she did not call on other protesters to stop their actions, leaving it to their own discretion.

In July 2024, an initiative group of citizens who hold "Money for the Armed Forces" rallies every Saturday met with Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov.

The activists were told that at the end of June, MPs voted in favor of legislative changes that allowed municipalities to make purchases for all units of the Armed Forces. The law is currently awaiting the signature of the President of Ukraine, but for it to work, amendments to the Budget Code are also needed.

Кирило Бойко