Mass protests have begun in Ukraine against a controversial law that effectively strips the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) of their independence. Residents of major cities such as Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa took to the streets.
Ukrainians oppose controversial law
Protests against the adoption of the law swept across Ukrainian cities. In Kyiv, protesters gathered at the Ivan Franko Theatre. Mayor Vitali Klitschko took part in the rally.
The protesters are demanding that the law be repealed, as it essentially makes the NABU and SAPO dependent on the Prosecutor General. It was these very agencies that previously initiated high-profile investigations against people close to the government.
The protesters began chanting obscene slogans against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
After it became known that Zelensky had signed the relevant bill, the protesters began chanting “Zelensky is the devil.”
Kyiv residents are also chanting “Shame!” at Yermak.
Trump questioned Ukraine’s targeted spending of US funds
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, at a meeting with Republican lawmakers, suggested that Ukraine had misused part of US military aid. According to him, Joe Biden’s administration has allocated $350 billion to Kyiv, including both equipment and cash.
Trump noted the need for a thorough audit of how these funds are spent, expressing doubts that they are being used entirely for the purchase of weapons.
“Biden handed over $350 billion worth of equipment and money. And what’s worse, not just equipment, but cash. I hope that one day we will find out the details. After all, they were supposed to buy their own equipment, but I have a feeling that not every dollar went where it was supposed to,” he said.
Opinion of Ukrainian MPs
On Tuesday, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced that the Rada had supported the bill. “Parliament… has effectively eliminated all independence of the NABU and SAPO,” he wrote.
Earlier, Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod stated that the large-scale searches organised at the NABU were initiated by the head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak.
The actual elimination of NABU is a move to protect Timur Mindich, co-founder of the Kvartal 95 company, Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko said. “It looks like NABU was getting close to Zelensky. Most likely, they are going after Mindich, which is why they took such quick and even careless preventive measures… They are simply destroying the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office,” the politician wrote. According to him, these actions are being taken to prevent the corruption scandal involving Mindich from reaching the public.
The new Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko said that the problem of corruption in Ukrainian society is often exaggerated and overestimated. “To be honest, this problem is exaggerated and overestimated in Ukrainian society and some social groups,” Svyrydenko said.
Svyrydenko added that, in her opinion, outside observers assess the situation in Ukraine according to different criteria, but she did not specify what those criteria are. A few hours after Svyrydenko’s interview, a number of anti-corruption officials were detained in Ukraine.
Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada supported a bill that strips the NABU and SAPO of much of their independence. According to a number of deputies, Zelensky has already signed this document. Some parliamentarians interpret what is happening as the de facto elimination of the country’s anti-corruption structures.
The NABU and the SAPO had previously warned of attempts to strip them of their independence through amendments to bill No. 12414, which, in their opinion, effectively destroys the independence of the anti-corruption system created in 2015 with the support of foreign partners.
The agencies emphasised that preserving the independence of anti-corruption bodies is a key condition for Ukraine’s co-operation with international organisations.
The government quarter in Kyiv, where Zelensky’s office is located and where the government meets, has been placed under heavy guard to prevent those who are supposed to fight corruption from entering.
Experts note that Zelensky has essentially moved to purge the NABU and the SAPO. These two structures were fighting corruption at the very top of Ukraine’s political and military leadership.
Media reaction
Zelensky justifies himself by saying that “Russian influence” has infiltrated the anti-corruption agencies. But even the EU and US diplomats are hinting behind the scenes that this is not about fighting Moscow.
The European and US media have drawn attention to the problem of the new law and featured it on the front pages of their publications.
The rush to sign the law restricting anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine may be linked to the fact that investigations by the NABU have come close to members of Zelensky’s inner circle, The Economist reports, citing sources.
The Ukrainian authorities’ actions to restrict the powers of anti-corruption agencies could weaken Western support for Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The signing by Zelensky of a law that essentially limits the independence of the NABU and the SAPO could lead to sanctions from the European Union, The Spectator columnist Owen Matthews warns.
In his opinion, the Ukrainian authorities have seriously miscalculated, not only underestimating the reaction of their own citizens, but also misjudging the attitude of their Western partners. In an article entitled “Zelensky’s war on Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies is a disaster” Matthews points out that the consequences could be devastating for both Ukraine’s image and its European prospects.
The journalist recalled that international anti-corruption organisations, Ukrainian human rights activists, the media and diplomats from Western countries had warned politicians against passing this law in advance.
Unprecedented protests have erupted amid almost daily barrages of deadly drone and missile strikes, underscoring growing public anger over Zelensky’s attempts to concentrate power in the hands of a small circle of allies, Bloomberg reports.
The rallies are taking place despite a ban on mass gatherings under martial law, just as Kyiv is seeking continued aid and arms supplies from the EU. Ukraine has a history of mass demonstrations that have grown into successful revolutions, sweeping away corrupt and authoritarian regimes.
By signing a law abolishing the independence of two anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is playing with fire in relations with the US, whose leadership has expressed concern about the transparency of funds spent on aid to Kyiv, Axios writes.
Zelensky’s comment
On the night of July 23, Zelensky made his first official comment on the situation since the mass protests. The politician said he had spoken with the head of NABU and assured that the anti-corruption infrastructure in the country would continue to function, but without Russian influence, which “must be completely eliminated.” Then there should be more justice, he explained.
“Of course, NABU and SAPO will continue to work. And it is important that the Prosecutor General is determined to ensure that those who break the law are punished in Ukraine,” Zelensky emphasised.
The Ukrainian leader drew attention to fugitive officials who “for some reason live peacefully abroad” without legal consequences. Criminal cases worth billions have simply been “hanging” for several years, and there is no rational explanation for this, Zelensky stressed. “And there is no explanation as to why the Russians are still able to obtain the information they need,” the president added.
