Ukraine has seen a new wave of protests emerge. Not on the scale of those seen in Kyiv and other cities last summer when the authorities attempted to thwart the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies – but protests nonetheless. These latest demonstrations took place against the new version of Ukraine’s Civil Code, which passed its first reading on April 28. Hitherto, Ukraine operated under the 2003 Code which at the time adopted many Western norms.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The protests in various cities against the recent draft law 15150 have brought together representatives of various organizations and hundreds of people – seemingly not that many – but still unusual for a country at war. At the same time, numerous amendments have been submitted to the Code prior to its second reading. As of May 22, these amounted to more than 3,500 revisions, while civic organizations submitted more than 100 pages of their own proposals and comments. In practice, this delays its adoption by several months. So, what is the problem? Too “conservative” or too “unclear” One of the main points of criticism is the Code’s excessively strong “conservatism.” Critics say it severely restricts the rights of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others. In particular, critics point to Article 1473 of the draft Code, which defines “marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman.” This point has become one of the contentious elements among opponents.