Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has chosen to end what was probably his worst week in office since he was elected in 2019 by sparking a fresh scandal. Prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against two of his biggest political rivals: former President Petro Poroshenko and Kyiv Vitali Klitschko.

Long-standing charges of Zelenskiy becoming increasingly authoritarian have snowballed in just the last few weeks, to reach an apex on July 22 when his party rushed through in a single day a Law 21414 that guts Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms.

The first anti-government demonstrations since the start of the war appeared on the streets of Kyiv, before Zelenskiy could even sign it into law. As the demonstrations swelled the next day, threatening to turn into a third Maidan, the president was forced into a humiliating climbdown, promising to introduce another law that would ensure the independence of the anti-corruption organs.

Law 21414 came after a growing crack down on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) – the two EU-backed independent organs tasked with investigating and prosecuting corruption in the government – by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), which is directly under the president’s control.

Just as it appeared that Zelenskiy was retaking control of the situation, a new flashpoint has flared up.

Ukrainian prosecutors are preparing criminal cases against former world boxing champion and Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko as well as former President Petro Poroshenko, according to a member of the Verkhovna Rada, Vedomosti reported on July 25.

Both are bitter Zelenskiy rivals. The president defeated Poroshenko in an emotional 2019 election campaign, and he has been trying to strip Klitschko of his executive control over the running of the capital for years. Both are outspoken public critics of Zelenskiy and his administration and would be potential rivals if elections are eventually resumed.

“Charges are being prepared against Poroshenko, I think that [Prosecutor General] Ruslan Kravchenko will sign them. Charges are being prepared against Klitschko, I think that Ruslan Kravchenko will sign them,” Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod said in an interview with Ukrainian political analyst Ruslan Bizyaev, Vedomosti reported on July 25.

One of the main objections to Law 21414 is that it gives the General Prosecutor Kravchenko complete discretion over all investigations – including those of NABU – empowering him to block investigations into the government. Kravchenko is also a presidential appointee and under the direct control of Zelenskiy.

The move comes amid mounting tensions between the presidential administration and regional political figures. Klitschko has often accused the central government of undermining local authorities, whereas the decentralization of Ukraine’s government has been one of the big successes of the liberal governments that took over after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. On July 19, he said that Zelenskiy is not in communication with local officials. In an earlier interview with The Times, Klitschko warned that Ukraine already “stinks” of authoritarianism under Zelenskiy’s leadership.

In addition to the recent accusations that the SBU has been targeting anti-corruption officers and prominent civil society activist, Klitschko adds new charges that the Zelenskiy administration is also increasingly removing city mayors that are not loyal to the president’s office, claiming they are “obstacles to the centralization of power.”

Poroshenko, who served as Ukraine’s president from 2014 to 2019, has also been under attack by Zelenskiy’s administration. In February, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine imposed sanctions against him and he has been accused of treason. Reacting to the announcement on his Telegram channel, Poroshenko said the council had made an “unconstitutional, politically motivated decision.”

No formal charges have yet been filed, the Russian daily Vedomosti reported, and the Prosecutor General’s Office has not commented publicly on the allegations.