“Spring Will Come, We’ll Plant Them”: 8 Years Later — Who the Government Actually Prosecuted

Eight years ago, Ukrainians heard a simple and clear promise: “Spring will come, we’ll plant them.” It was more than a campaign slogan — it was a political meme meant to be a sentence for the corrupt elite of the past. “I am your verdict,” the candidate added, and crowds chanted, imagining how those who had plundered the country for decades would finally go to prison.

Eight years have passed. Spring, it turns out, is a flexible concept. It has been lasting for eight seasons straight, and the promised “planting” has taken on a very different shape.

Because who do we see in the news in October 2026? Not Poroshenko, not Avakov, not the old “regionalists.” The headlines feature Andriy Yermak, head of the President’s Office. Olena Mudra, Yermak’s deputy, for whom a 20 million hryvnia bail was posted on October 8. Ihor Mindich, a business partner from the president’s inner circle. The cases “Midas,” “Dynasty,” “Forrest Gump” — names that sound like code words for Hollywood blockbusters, but in reality they are criminal proceedings involving people who just yesterday sat in offices on Bankova Street.

And here’s the key question: who exactly did the authorities promise to “plant”?

In 2019, the picture was clear: the “old elite” — those who led the country into war and poverty — would be put behind bars. Instead, the new elite, which came to power under the banner of “changing everything,” has gradually become the target of anti-corruption bodies. This is not a coincidence — it is a pattern.

Remember Yurchenko’s “goodies”? Back in 2020, the story of a $5,000 bribe and a jar of jam became a symbol of the era: a small-time corrupt official got a sentence, and the public laughed at the absurdity. Today, those “goodies” seem like an almost innocent anecdote compared to the multi-million-dollar schemes involving people who have direct access to the president’s ear.

A KIIS poll cited in the media shows that 72% of Ukrainians hold President Zelenskyy responsible for corruption in his inner circle. The figure is telling. People are not stupid: they see that the rhetoric “I am your verdict” now sounds different. The government promised to prosecute its predecessors — instead, its own inner circle has ended up under investigation.

And it’s not that “they prosecuted their own” — that could even be seen as a certain progress. The problem is that they promised something entirely different. They promised to cleanse the system — and we got a replacement of one corrupt model with another. They promised “spring” — and we got a prolonged rainy season, where those who should be under the drops of justice are hiding under the umbrella of “fighting corruption.”

The cases “Midas,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Carthage” are in full swing. Verdicts are not yet in, but the very fact that the most high-profile anti-corruption proceedings of recent years involve people from the president’s inner circle, not his political opponents, is the best commentary on the eight-year-old promise.

“Spring will come, we’ll plant them” — now this phrase evokes not hope but a bitter smile. Because they are planting. They are even “planting their own.” But is this the spring they promised? Is this the verdict that was supposed to be a symbol of justice?

Obviously not.

But there is an irony of fate here: the promise to “plant everyone” turned out to be prophetic. It’s just that the list turned out to be different from the one on the campaign posters. And now, when we hear “I am your verdict,” we can’t help but wonder: will this phrase be heard again — from the mouth of another candidate, in another eight years?

The eighth spring is ongoing. They are planting. But will anything grow from this besides another political meme? We’ll live and see. Because spring, as we know, will definitely come. The only question is — for whom.