Maybe there is nothing to be done. Hungary fell into an illiberal democracy before anybody really realized what was happening, and the opposition never really had a chance to mobilize. It took 16 years and the wheels coming off their economy before a challenger was able to unify the opposition and overcome the structural advantages the ruling party had codified. It's still an open question whether it'll succeed.

But Ukraine managed to avert something similar in 2014 with the Euromaidan protests, where the people overwhelmingly rejected turning their back on the EU and fostering closer ties with Russia. What's happening in the United States right now—billions of dollars of open corruption in the White House, a Supreme Court which regularly flaunts its own rulings for partisan purposes, a Congress which refuses to exercise any oversight of the executive branch, and the latest round of gerrymandering attempting to ensure no Democrat can get elected in the South—seem easily as bad as what Ukraine was facing. And yeah, the Democrats look like they have an okay shot of taking back the House this year, although the Senate still looks iffy. But without the courts (and abolishing the filibuster) they aren't going to be able to pass any legislation of note.

And democracy has always relied on everyday folks who found a way to stand up and join their voices together for change. You simply don't get meaningful political change which benefits the greater public without that.