Protests in Ukraine as Zelenski signs a bill aimed at anti -corruption organs

President Volodimir Zelenski has signed a bill that critics claim is weakening the independence of Ukraine’s anti -corruption bodies, provoking protests in several cities and extracting international criticism.

Critics claim that the new law undermines the powers of the National Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Corruption (SAPO)-puts them under the control of the Prosecutor General.

In Wednesday, Zelenski said both agencies would still “work”, but they must be released from “Russian influence”.

After the bill passed, hundreds of people gathered in Kiev for the largest anti-government protest since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of February 2022.

The demonstrations were also observed in the cities LVIV, DNIPRO and ODESA.

“We chose Europe, not an autocracy,” said a poster held by a demonstrator. “My father didn’t die for it,” another said.

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the Zelenski Ruslan Kravchenko loyalist, will now be able to redirect the corruption probes to potentially superficial investigators and even close them.

In his address at night, Zelenski criticized the effectiveness of Ukraine’s anti -corruption infrastructure, saying that the cases were “sleeping in sleep”.

“There is no rational explanation why criminal proceedings worth billions of” hang “for years,” he said.

He added that the Prosecutor General would guarantee the “inevitability of punishment” for those who violated the law.

For critics of legislation, this is contrary to more than a decade of prodemocracy and efforts to combat corruption.

It was such aspirations that led to the uprising of Euromaydan and the collapse of President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, followed by the invasion of Russia and the death of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Ukrainian government indicated Russian influence to restrict NABO’s powers.

On the day before the controversial law was passed, the security service of Ukraine and the prosecutor’s prosecutor’s office made searches and arrests aimed at suspected Russian spies in NBU.

This move has caused concern among the Western allies of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian independent anti -corruption system was created at their insistence and under their supervision 10 years ago.

This was a key assumption about their help and stronger relationships, as Ukraine announced a democracy course against the background of Russia’s initial invasion of 2014.

“The European Union is concerned about the latest actions of Ukraine regarding its anti -corruption institutions,” said European Commission spokesman Guillaume Murchier.

“The EU provides considerable financial assistance to Ukraine, conditional for progress in transparency, judicial reform and democratic rule.”

Printing corruption is also a key requirement for Ukraine’s request to join the EU.

The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Martha Kos, criticizes the adoption of the bill.

“The dismantling of key precautions protecting Nabu’s independence is a serious step,” Cos wrote in social media, saying that the two bodies are “essential” for the path of Ukraine in the EU.

The Deputy Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka said that he had assured that Martha Kos had no compromise on anti-corruption and that “all major functions remain intact.”

DMYTRO KULEBA, who stood up as a foreign minister last year, said it was a “bad day for Ukraine” and that the president had a choice – either to stand on the side of people or not.

Ambassadors from the G7 Nations group said they would like to discuss pressure on Nabu and Sapo with the Ukrainian leadership.

However, Ukraine’s allies would be extremely reluctant to restore the help and cooperation at a time when his troops were fighting on the front line.