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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that critics say weakens the independence of the country’s anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests and drawing international criticism.<\/p>\n
Critics say the new law undermines the authority of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) – placing them under the control of the prosecutor general.<\/p>\n
In an address on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still “work”, but needed to be cleared of “Russian influence”. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Demonstrations were also seen in the cities of Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa.<\/p>\n
“We chose Europe, not autocracy,” said a poster held by one demonstrator. “My father did not die for this,” said another.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In his address, Zelensky criticised the efficiency of Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, saying cases had been “lying dormant”.<\/p>\n
“There is no rational explanation for why criminal proceedings worth billions have been ‘hanging’ for years,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the prosecutor general would ensure “the inevitability of punishment” for those who broke the law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
To critics of the legislation, this is at odds with more than a decade of pro-democracy and anti-corruption efforts.<\/p>\n
It is such aspirations that led to the Euromaidan uprising and the downfall of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, followed by Russia’s invasion and the deaths of hundreds of thousands people.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian government has cited Russian influence for curtailing Nabu’s powers.<\/p>\n
The day before the controversial law was passed, Ukraine’s Security Service and the prosecutor general’s office carried out searches and arrests targeting alleged Russian spies at Nabu.<\/p>\n
The move has sparked concern among Ukraine’s Western allies.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian independent anti-corruption system was set up at their insistence and under their supervision 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
It was a key precondition for their aid and stronger ties as Ukraine declared a pro-democracy course amid Russia’s initial invasion of 2014.<\/p>\n
“The European Union is concerned about Ukraine’s recent actions with regard to its anti-corruption institutions,” says European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier.<\/p>\n
“The EU provides significant financial assistance to Ukraine, conditional on progress in transparency, judicial reform, and democratic governance.”<\/p>\n
Stamping out corruption is also a key requirement for Ukraine’s application to join the EU.<\/p>\n
The European commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos, criticised the bill’s adoption.<\/p>\n
“The dismantling of key safeguards protecting Nabu’s independence is a serious step back,” Kos wrote on social media, saying the two bodies were “essential” for Ukraine’s EU path.<\/p>\n
Ambassadors from the G7 group of nations have also said they would like to discuss the pressure on Nabu and Sapo with the Ukrainian leadership.<\/p>\n
However, Ukraine’s allies would be extremely reluctant to roll back the aid and cooperation at a time when its troops are struggling on the frontline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n