KYIV. Dec 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Restart of protest movements took place in Ukraine, which is usual for the social and political life of the country, and some politicians are already starting to prepare for the upcoming presidential elections, political scientists said.

"There has been a restart of protest movements in Ukraine. This is the usual situation for Ukraine. The protests of the 'euroblackers,' the anti-fiscal movement of small and microbusiness is the return of the protest movement in Ukraine to normalcy. Since for Ukraine it is abnormal when everything is decided only in the lobbies and offices," Director of the Institute of Global Strategies Vadym Karasev said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday.

The political scientist said that in Ukraine for a long time the budget was not adopted in December, the country still cannot get used to the new sanitary regime due to coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. He said that the Cabinet of Ministers does not always successfully cope with resolving certain issues, but so far, in his opinion, it is inappropriate to dismiss the entire government, which will only intensify the crisis and "anarchic tendencies" in the Ukrainian political system, but it is possible to make point changes, and to strengthen the Cabinet of Ministers with professionals, including from other parties.

Karasev said that he sees no reason for holding early presidential elections in Ukraine, even with existing claims to the authorities. "The level of confidence in the president is quite high. But I see that they already want to push Zelensky and Klitschko against each other. And third, there is 'swinging' upon Groysman's return to the premiership, but it is not clear on what grounds," he said.

The political scientist also believes that the conflict around NABU that has arisen now is a manifestation of the clash between the "coalition of external control" and the "coalition of sovereignty." In his opinion, since NABU and its director are not sufficiently effective and impeccable in reputation, this exacerbates the intra-elite struggle to maintain influence on law enforcement agencies, without giving this influence to "Western partners and other external visible or invisible management structures."

Director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko believes that the situation around the case of former MP Maksym Mykytas and NABU is preparation for the regular presidential elections. "If you have noticed, then information has already flashed about the connection between Mykytas and Tatarov [deputy head of the President's Office Oleh Tatarov] with Groysman and Klitschko, and these are two ready presidential candidates," he said.

In his opinion, in relation to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, most likely, a campaign is unfolding to "limit prospects." "And according to Klitschko, it is fundamental, because there should be a bargaining, who should be the head of Kyiv City State Administration: Klitschko or someone else," Nebozhenko said.

Kostiantyn Matviyenko, an expert at the Hardarika strategic consulting corporation, said in turn that out of 120 deputies plus the mayor's vote, 114 people voted for new secretary of Kyiv City Council Volodymyr Bondarenko. "This means that Klitschko took control of Kyiv City Council. This result suggests that Klitschko is acquiring institutional opportunities to run for president," he said.

Political analyst Valeriy Dymov believes that after the local elections, those people who saw that the government was losing their positions, as it was in 2015, decided to increase their representation in the Verkhovna Rada. "Therefore, the authorities, substituting in 2019, dissolving parliament due to a low rating, themselves made a criterion for assessing their activities. Now the only question is when this Verkhovna Rada will be close to such an assessment in terms of trust ratings," he said.