Zelensky restores power of anti-graft agencies
Zelensky reversed course after the outcry, under pressure from top European officials, who warned that Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for EU membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities. He signed a new bill on Thursday shortly after lawmakers approved it 331 to 0, saying it "guarantees the absence of any kind of outside influence (or) interference".
"Ukraine is a democracy — there are definitely no doubts," Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
Thursday's law reverses amendments that had given his hand-picked general prosecutor the power to transfer cases away from the agencies and reassign prosecutors, a step critics alleged had been designed to protect his allies from prosecution.
Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the EU, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion.
Demonstrations had continued even after Zelensky submitted the new bill last week, with hundreds rallying near the presidential offices in Kyiv late on Wednesday chanting "Shame!" and "The people are the power!". Activists also rallied near parliament ahead of Thursday's vote to pressure lawmakers to approve the new measure. They burst into applause after it passed. Speaking at the rostrum before voting, opposition member Yaroslav Yurchyshyn thanked Ukrainians for stopping authorities "one step from the abyss" of autocracy.
Some lawmakers appeared in parliament with hand-made placards mimicking those carried by protesters.
Writing on X, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said Thursday's law "restores key safeguards, but challenges remain".
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have stepped up a closely watched campaign against graft since Russia's February 2022 invasion. They have brought charges against lawmakers and senior government officials, including a then-deputy prime minister who was accused last month of taking a $345,000 kickback. Speaking to Reuters last Friday, after Zelensky's reversal, NABU chief Semen Kryvonos said he expected continued pressure on his agency from corrupt forces uninterested in cleaning up Ukraine. — Reuters
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