The ministry interference was seen by many as encroachment on the academy’s autonomy and drew intense ire.

The election campaign was marred by vote count incident with two ballot boxes stolen (and eventually retrieved), which led to talk of voting violations, making ministry officials interfere and call for a new election.

The backlash over a new election call made officials row back on the decision with Ukraine’s parliament speaker Stefanchuk claiming the academy ‘choice’ is ‘sacred’ and will stand as the parties reached the ‘compromise’.

Students protest got words of support from ‘European Solidarity’ leader Petro Poroshenko who said ‘the attack on Kyiv Mohyla Academy has an ideological character regarding worldview and value orientations’.