Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a controversial bill that severely restricts the autonomy of the country’s two main anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO. This move, which Brussels described as a “serious step backward,” has ignited the largest public protests across Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion.
Concerns Over EU Accession and Western Aid
Curbing endemic corruption is a key condition for Kyiv’s membership in the European Union, as well as for securing billions of dollars in Western aid. However, the amendments, approved yesterday, grant the Prosecutor General — an appointee of the president — strict control over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), as confirmed by several lawmakers.
Widespread Protests Defy Curfew, Demand Veto
The vote drew sharp criticism from the heads of both affected agencies and senior European officials. Thousands of protesters gathered in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa last night to oppose the new law. Despite widespread calls for President Zelensky to veto the bill, he signed it into law while demonstrations were still ongoing.
Protesters in Kyiv converged near the Ivan Franko Theater in the city center, just a few blocks from the Presidential Palace. Their primary message was directed at Zelensky, with crowds chanting, “Veto the law!” Chants of “Veto the law,” “Ukraine is not Russia,” and those directed against Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, were reportedly loud enough to reach the President’s Office building. Despite an imposed curfew, demonstrations persist against the bill.
The controversial vote took place just one day after Kyiv’s internal security agency arrested two NABU officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and conducted extensive searches of agency employees for other reasons.
