❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ukrainian President Zelensky signed a bill putting Ukraine’s top anti-corruption agencies under the control of his prosecutor general, destroying their independence and sparking national protests and international backlash. He has now signed a new draft law to restore the independence of anti-corruption bodies.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABUI), and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP).
📍WHEN & WHERE: Ukraine, July 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We are working [with the Ukrainian government] to make sure that our concerns… are indeed taken into account.” – Ursula von der Leyen
🎯IMPACT: The initial law weakened the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions, raising fears that Zelensky is not serious about reforming the country at best, and attempting to actively cover up his government’s misdeeds at worst. Zelensky’s justification, that the law protected against Russian influence, was criticized as contradictory and self-defeating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved a draft bill guaranteeing the freedom of the two anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine, just days after nationwide protests against another law that put them under the control of his prosecutor general.
On Thursday, Zelensky said the draft bill is intended to safeguard the independence of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). He justified his previous decision to restrict the bodies’ powers on dubious claims of Russia’s influence. Ukraine’s security services had carried out searches and arrests, targeting supposed Russian spies at the agency.
After the legislation undermining the anti-corruption agencies was passed, protests broke out in Ukraine, said to be the largest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. There was also international outcry, with many of Zelensky’s sponsors in the West concerned about backsliding on reform in a country where graft and corruption have long been rife.
A spokesman for European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Kiev that the rule of law and the fight against corruption were “core elements” of membership of the European Union (EU), which remains a key aspiration for Ukraine. Following Zelensky’s apparent backtracking, the Commission said it “welcomed” the move.
Zelensky did not acknowledge the protests or the backlash in a Thursday social media post announcing the new draft bill, but said it was “important that we are maintaining unity” and “important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians and are grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine.”
Image: European Union 2023– Source: EP.
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