A new law signed by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has caused widespread protests in the country. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
This law aims to limit the independence of key state agencies fighting corruption — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), transferring them under the control of the Prosecutor General. These changes have been sharply criticized by Ukrainian citizens and the international community, particularly the European Union and G7 countries.
Protests involving hundreds of people took place in the cities of Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odessa. These protests are noted as one of the largest since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The protesters raised slogans such as “We have chosen Europe, not authoritarianism” and “My father did not sacrifice his life for this.” President Zelensky defended the law, emphasizing that the activities of anti-corruption agencies have been ineffective.
According to him, cases of major financial crimes have remained unresolved for years, yielding no effective results. Zelensky stated that he aims to ensure criminal accountability and to free the system from “Russian influence” by strengthening the control of the Prosecutor General.
The international community has strongly criticized this law. European Commission representative Guillaume Mertens pointed out that these changes could weaken the anti-corruption requirements in cooperation with the European Union.
European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos assessed the loss of independence of NABU and SAPO as a “serious step backward.” She reminded that these organizations are a crucial principle on the path to EU membership.
It was also reported that G7 ambassadors are planning to hold separate negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership regarding the law.
