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What did 12 September 2023 hold for Ukraine's politics?
Summary
A look back at the political threads running into 12 September 2023: a petition over asset declarations and talks on Black Sea grain.
What was the political mood around Ukraine on 12 September 2023? The days leading up to that date were shaped by two stories: a public protest over transparency at home and a diplomatic effort over grain exports abroad.
A petition on asset declarations
On 8 September 2023, tens of thousands of Ukrainians had signed a petition asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto legislation on asset declarations. Critics believed the law could prevent officials from being held accountable, because it delayed a requirement to declare their assets publicly. The scale of the petition showed how closely the public was watching the issue of corruption.
Grain diplomacy in Sochi
On 6 September 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held talks in Sochi, Russia. They discussed reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which would allow grain to pass across the Black Sea again.
The initiative was an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations. It was designed to address the consequences of the February 2022 invasion, which had completely halted maritime grain shipments from Ukraine, previously a major exporter via the Black Sea. Russia had also temporarily halted its own grain exports. The result had been higher world food prices, the threat of famine in lower-income countries, and accusations that Russia was weaponising food supplies.
The agreement was signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022 for 120 days. It set up procedures to export grain safely from certain ports, with a joint coordination and inspection centre in Turkey and the UN serving as secretariat. The Sochi meeting was an attempt to bring that framework back.
Voting in occupied areas
The period also saw Russian-run voting in occupied parts of Ukraine. On 8 September 2023, Russia said its air defences had shot down two Ukrainian drones that were attempting to attack a polling station in Skadovsk, Kherson Oblast, while voting was under way.
The picture on 12 September
Taken together, these reports show the political terrain in the days before and on 12 September 2023: domestic pressure on Kyiv over accountability, a Russian–Turkish push on grain shipping, and Russia staging elections in occupied territory that continued to be contested by force.
