Ukraine's oligarch law and the Shefir shooting: what happened
A retrospective on the days around 24 September 2021, when a law on oligarchs followed an attack on a presidential aide's car.
What did Ukraine's political calendar look like on 24 September 2021? It came just after two linked developments: an attack on a close aide of the president and the passage of a law aimed at keeping oligarchs out of politics.
On 22 September 2021, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying Serhiy Shefir, an official close to President Volodymyr Zelensky, near the village of Lisnyky, outside Kyiv. The driver of the car was wounded. The incident was treated as an assassination attempt against Shefir. Ukrainian reports at the time described him as the president's first aide.
The following day, 23 September 2021, Ukraine passed a law ordering oligarchs to stay out of politics. Officials said the shooting could have been a response to the reform.
By 24 September 2021, the two events were being read together: a reform meant to limit the political role of the country's richest businessmen, and an armed attack on a figure from the president's inner circle one day before its adoption.
