Hundreds of people gathered in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to lodge their protest with the Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration for passing a controversial bill tightening restrictions on its anti-corruption agencies, presenting the war-hit nation with its biggest domestic turmoil since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday passed amendments to allow the country’s general prosecutor, appointed by the president, strict control over two anti-corruption bodies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo).

President Zelensky, whose party holds a majority in parliament, approved the amendments late on Tuesday. The changes would allow the general prosecutor to transfer cases from the agencies and reassign prosecutors.

In his nightly televised address, Zelensky said the corruption fighting agencies would continue to function “but without any Russian influence”.

“It all must be cleansed,” he said.

In the morning, he met officials including the heads of Nabu and Sapo and said he would unveil a new plan to fight corruption within two weeks.

“We hear society,” he wrote on Telegram. “We all have a common enemy, the Russian occupiers, and the protection of the Ukrainian state requires sufficient strength of the law enforcement and anti-corruption systems, and therefore a real sense of justice.”

The move has alarmed the country as this could result in granting more power to Ukraine’s chief prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko, also seen as a Zelensky loyalist, to reassign corruption probes to investigators of their preference.

Shortly after the bill was cleared in parliament, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv carried placards to protest. Protests also broke out in other cities like Dnipro, Lviv and Odesa.

“We chose Europe, not autocracy,” read one placard by a demonstrator. Another read: “My father did not die for this.”

Protesters hold placards during a demonstration calling for the Ukrainian president to veto a law passed by parliament that reduces the powers of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) in downtown Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)

The vote was denounced on social media as a betrayal of Ukraine’s decade-long geopolitical ambition. The protests echoed the long-standing sentiment of fighting corruption in Ukraine as critical to erasing a legacy of Russian rule.

Vladyslava Kirstyuk, 18, said memories of her childhood in occupied eastern Ukraine, after Russia’s covert invasion in 2014, left a strong impression.

“I know what it means for one person to have all the power, when nothing is transparent and everything is working against you,” she said. “I don’t want it to be the same for us here.”

This photograph shows a projection reading ‘Veto the law’ on a building facade during a demonstration calling for the Ukrainian president to veto a law passed by parliament that reduces the powers of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) in downtown Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Zelensky also said he had spoken to Nabu chief Semen Kryvonos and other top prosecutors.

Mr Kryvonos had urged the Ukrainian president to not sign the fast-tracked bill, which he called an attempt to “destroy” Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure.

The two agencies – Nabu and Sapo were set up in the country after the 2014 Maidan revolution toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a Western course. They are credited for their work to tackle corruption and graft in Ukraine during the war, levelling charges against lawmakers, ministers and a former deputy head of Zelensky’s administration.

“Last week, we ran an editorial warning of an anti-democratic backslide in Ukraine. Today, it’s happening in plain sight. This isn’t what our people have been fighting and dying for, and it’s devastatingly unfair to them,” said Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of Ukrainian publication The Kyiv Independent.

Ukraine is also facing backlash from anti-graft campaigners who have been alarmed since the government charged a top anti-corruption activist this month with fraud and evading military service. The move has been dubbed as political retribution by authorities for exposing corrupt officials.

Rooting out endemic corruption and graft is critical for Ukraine to join the European Union and also a key condition to receive western aid at a time the country is battered by war.

The European Union enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said she was “seriously concerned” by Tuesday’s vote.

“The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back,” she said, adding that rule of law was at “the very centre” of EU accession talks.

The issue risks antagonising Kyiv’s most loyal allies at a particularly risky time, when it is trying to smooth over the relationship with Washington, where President Donald Trump has frequently criticised Zelensky.

“Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions are vital to its reform path. Restricting them would be a significant setback,” Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on X.

Benjamin Haddad, France’s European Affairs minister, said it was not too late to reverse the decision.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, from Ukraine’s opposition Holos party, said that he and several other lawmakers would propose a bill “to overturn this big shame that was adopted and signed”, and also challenge the law in the Constitutional Court.

Protests in Ukraine as Zelensky signs bill targeting anti-corruption bodies

9 hours ago Share Save Vitaly Shevchenko Russia editor, BBC Monitoring Share Save

Anadolu via Getty Images Protesters gathered in Kyiv on Tuesday after a bill was passed targeting the country’s anti-corruption bodies

President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that critics say weakens the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests in several cities and drawing international criticism. The new law grants the prosecutor general control of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap), and critics say it undermines their authority. In an address on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still “work” but needed to be cleared of “Russian influence”. After the bill passed, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv for the biggest anti-government protest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Demonstrations were also seen in the cities of Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa. “We chose Europe, not autocracy,” said a poster held by one demonstrator. “My father did not die for this,” said another. Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, Zelensky loyalist Ruslan Kravchenko, will now be able to reassign corruption probes to potentially more pliant investigators, and even to close them. In his overnight address, Zelensky criticised the efficiency of Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, saying cases had been “lying dormant”. “There is no rational explanation for why criminal proceedings worth billions have been ‘hanging’ for years,” he said. He added that the prosecutor general would ensure “the inevitability of punishment” for those who broke the law.

Reuters

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comments from lawmaker Inna Sovsun.

Lawmakers have begun collecting signatures to file a motion to the Constitutional Court challenging a controversial law that strips independence from the country’s top anti-corruption institutions, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on July 22.

Ukraine passed legislation on July 22 granting the prosecutor general vast authority over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

The law, quickly pushed through by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s lawmakers and signed by the president the same day, is seen as an effort to dismantle Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure and sparked demonstrations in Kyiv and other cities.

“The only thing that can be done now to remedy the situation is to demolish this shoddy law in the Constitutional Court,” Zhelezniak, a member of the opposition Holos party, wrote on Telegram.

Zhelezniak claimed that procedural rules were violated during the bill’s passage, making the constitutional challenge viable. The motion will require at least 45 signatures from members of parliament.

“I think that this number (of signatures) can be found in the parliament,” the lawmaker said.

In Ukraine, bringing a case to the Constitutional Court means that a group of lawmakers or the president can formally challenge the legality of a law by asking the court to assess whether it complies with the country’s Constitution.

If the court rules that the law violates constitutional principles, it can be struck down in part or in full.

Zhelezniak also expressed hope that international reaction might help reverse the legislation, though acknowledged it would be difficult to undo the damage.

Lawmaker Inna Sovsun also condemned the move, saying that despite public pressure and protests across the country, “the law was still signed.”

Sovsun said her team has already drafted and submitted a new bill aimed at reversing the controversial changes. “This is the only quick way to roll back the situation,” she wrote, calling on fellow lawmakers to co-sign the new legislation.

The controversial law passed on July 22 redefines NABU and SAPO as regular law enforcement agencies rather than independent bodies.

Under the new framework, the prosecutor general will have the authority to influence investigations, issue procedural orders, and block cases brought by anti-corruption prosecutors — practices that the current institutional design was explicitly created to prevent.

The changes effectively dismantle the autonomy that allowed NABU and SAPO to pursue high-level corruption cases without political interference.

The legislation was passed with little public debate and amid warnings from Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, who called it a “death blow” to Ukraine’s already fragile anti-corruption architecture.

Legal experts and officials, including SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko, warned that the law breaches multiple constitutional norms and undermines obligations Ukraine made to the European Union as part of its membership bid.

Ukraine’s civil society, the European Commission, and anti-corruption NGOs have spoken out against the reform.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian activists called for more protests against a law they say weakens the country’s anti-corruption bodies. The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.

Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto a controversial bill passed by Ukraine’s Parliament earlier that day. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in the center of Kyiv at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy’s circle greater influence over investigations.

Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia’s three-year invasion.

Instead of vetoing the bill as protestors demanded, Zelenskyy signed it into law and argued for it, in a move that risked his public support after more than three years of war with Russia.

Zelenskyy said the measure clears out “Russian influence” from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were yearslong delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.

“This is what Ukraine really needs,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post after midnight Wednesday. “The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated.”

“For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason – in very nice countries and without legal consequences – and this is not normal,” he said.

He didn’t provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.

Russian officials relished Zelenskyy’s difficulties. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocked Zelenskyy’s claim of Russian infiltration into the anti-corruption agency, noting sarcastically that “they might just as well pull a couple of bears out of the corner.”

Zelenskyy has been the international face of Ukraine’s determination to defeat Russia’s all-out invasion, and his domestic troubles are an unwelcome diversion from the war effort.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were set to meet in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of direct talks in two months, although the Kremlin didn’t confirm the date or venue and its spokesman warned against expecting “any magical breakthroughs” in the meeting.

The changes would grant the prosecutor general new authority over investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

In a post on X, the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern over the vote in the Ukrainian Parliament, called the Rada, calling it “a serious step back.”

The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticized Parliament’s decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners. It accused authorities of “dismantling” the country’s anti-corruption architecture.

The mood of anger and frustration among the war-weary Ukrainians prevailed in the crowd Tuesday. Some protesters accused Ukraine’s leadership of prioritizing loyalty and personal connections over the fight against corruption.

“Those who swore to protect the laws and the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy,” said veteran Oleh Symoroz, sitting in a wheelchair because both his legs were amputated after he was wounded in 2022.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Kyiv [Ukraine], July 23 (ANI): The Ukrainian Parliament has voted to end the independence of the country’s key anti-corruption agencies, triggering protests, criticism from Western officials, and warnings of a rollback in governance standards, RT reported.

According to RT, the Verkhovna Rada passed legislation on Tuesday that places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under executive oversight. Lawmakers opposing the measure reportedly shouted “shame!” as the vote result was announced.

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Later that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill into law. The move came just 24 hours after Ukraine’s domestic security service raided the NABU headquarters and arrested two investigators, RT noted. The raids sparked concern from G7 ambassadors, who said they were “monitoring the situation.”

RT reported that anti-corruption activists have called the move an intentional effort to suppress independent probes. “This is about silencing NABU and SAPO as they close in on Zelensky’s inner circle,” the Anti-Corruption Action Center said.

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The legislation, introduced by lawmakers from Zelensky’s ruling party, was initially meant to revise Ukraine’s criminal code under martial law. However, last-minute amendments were added to strip NABU and SAPO of their autonomy, according to RT.

MP Anastasia Radina criticised the bill, warning that it would “effectively dismantle” Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, turning NABU and SAPO into “purely decorative institutions … completely dependent on the will of the prosecutor-general,” RT reported.

The NABU and SAPO were established in 2015 under Western guidance to promote prosecutorial independence, a key requirement for Ukraine’s EU accession talks and access to international loans. The NABU had received substantial support in terms of equipment and training from the US, UK, and EU, RT noted.

European Commissioner Marta Kos condemned the legislation, calling the “dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence a serious step back.” She added that “the rule of law remains central to Ukraine’s EU bid.”

European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said the agencies were “crucial” for fighting corruption and maintaining public trust. He further stated that Ukraine’s EU accession would require “strong institutional resilience,” and reminded that “EU aid remains tied to reforms,” according to RT.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko dismissed the international backlash, saying corruption concerns were “overemphasised,” and indicated that Kyiv would continue to seek additional support from the IMF. (ANI)

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