Zelensky Signs Law Weakening Anti-Corruption Agencies, Prompting Protests and EU Criticism

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a controversial bill that critics say undermines the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies, sparking protests across major cities and triggering backlash from Western allies.

The new legislation places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) under the control of the prosecutor general Zelensky loyalist Ruslan Kravchenko who now has the authority to reassign or even shut down corruption investigations.

In his Wednesday address, Zelensky defended the move, stating that while Nabu and Sapo would continue to operate, they needed to be purged of “Russian influence.”

“There is no rational explanation for why criminal proceedings worth billions have been ‘hanging’ for years,” he said, adding that the prosecutor general would ensure “the inevitability of punishment” for wrongdoers.

However, the move has alarmed many both within and outside Ukraine. The day after the bill passed, Kyiv witnessed its largest anti-government protest since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Demonstrations also broke out in Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa, with protesters carrying signs reading “We chose Europe, not autocracy” and “My father did not die for this.”

Critics argue the legislation runs counter to the anti-corruption and pro-democracy reforms that followed the 2014 Euromaidan uprising and the ousting of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.

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