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Ukrainians are taking to the streets after the passage of a controversial bill threatening the autonomy of two anti-corruption agencies.
The legislation gives the general prosecutor — who is appointed by the president — increased authority over the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now facing the largest protests since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Demonstrators gathered outside the presidential administration in Kyiv, while other protests took place in smaller cities across the country.
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The vote came one day after two NABU officials were arrested over alleged ties to Russia, according to Reuters. The outlet said that Ukraine’s domestic security agency, which carried out the arrests, also conducted background checks.
“I gathered all heads of Ukraine’s law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, along with the Prosecutor General. It was a much-needed meeting — a frank and constructive conversation that truly helps,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “We all share a common enemy: the Russian occupiers. And defending the Ukrainian state requires a strong enough law enforcement and anti-corruption system — one that ensures a real sense of justice.”
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“In effect, if this bill becomes law, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, while NABU will lose its independence and turn into a subdivision of the prosecutor general’s office,” the agencies said in a joint statement on Telegram, according to the Associated Press.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expressed concern over the vote, saying “the dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back.”
Zelenskyy said in another X post, following a meeting that included NABU Director Semen Kryvonos, SAPO Prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk, that “anti-corruption infrastructure” needs to be “cleared” of “Russian influence.”
The Ukrainian government’s latest move risks endangering its bid to join the European Union, as a crackdown on internal corruption is a requirement. Additionally, it could strain the warming relationship between Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump, who has accused the Ukrainian leader of being a “dictator without elections.”
Both the U.S. and the E.U. have backed activists in Ukraine demanding independent institutions be established and empowered to clean up corruption, according to Axios. However, the pressure dropped significantly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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