Zelenskyy under pressure as anti-corruption rollback sparks backlash
The legislation, removing the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, sparked the first major protests in Ukraine since it began fighting off the Russian invasion over three years ago.
"Our struggle takes place on two fronts. Our main enemy is external, but we have an internal battle, too," said protester Viacheslav Bykov.
"We don't want Ukraine to be part of Russia, we don't want a corrupt or authoritarian Ukraine. We want a free Ukraine."
Several thousand demonstrators — mostly young — called for a veto to the law passed by Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday.
The law places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the authority of the prosecutor-general, who is appointed by the president.
Critics say the legislation would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes and threatens the independence of key institutions in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the backlash on Wednesday evening, saying he would submit a new bill ensuring "all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place".
Kyiv's partners had reacted with alarm, including European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, who the European Union (EU) said demanded explanations from Zelenskyy over the change.
Civil society groups warn the bill is part of a broader pattern of pressure on anti-corruption activists and bodies.
Some European allies worry the moves will undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the EU — a fear shared by many of the protesters.
"We've worked for years to move closer to Europe... only to be thrown back 10 years in a single day," said protester Anya Kutsevol.
Ukraine's two anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, were born a decade ago in the wake of the 2014 Maidan revolution.
Those pro-European protests, centred on Kyiv's main square, also called Maidan, ousted a Kremlin-backed leader who scrapped a key partnership agreement with the EU.
The Kremlin, which refused to accept Ukraine's democratic turn towards Europe, then launched a first assault over Ukraine that led Moscow-backed separatists to occupy Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region.
"Ukraine is Europe," said Kutsevol. "We won't be returned to Russia. We will keep fighting for Europe."
Some fear that a political crisis over the legislation could work in Russia's favour by undermining unity within the country, which is struggling to hold the front.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seized on the opportunity to say there was "a lot of corruption" in Ukraine.
"If I were Russia, I would do the same," said another protester, Yevgen Popovychenko, convinced that Moscow would try to exploit the protests.
He was holding a banner that read: "Don't take me back" to the years of Maidan, where he took to the streets as a 21-year-old.
As he stood in the crowd, he said he was having flashbacks from Maidan, a feeling shared by his friends.
But many other protesters were only children during the famed 2014 demonstrations — including 25-year-old Kutsevol.
"When tyres were still burning, I was 14. What good was I?" she said.
Wednesday's was her first political protest, and she teared up looking at people gathered around her for the second day in a row, despite martial law banning large gatherings.
She vowed to keep defending Ukraine's democracy.
"We're adults now. Now it's our turn."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
7 minutes ago
- The Star
Estonia shows off prison cells awaiting Swedish inmates
An inside view of the corridor in prison in Tartu, Estonia July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins TARTU, Estonia (Reuters) -Estonia showed off some of the many empty cells in its Tartus prison on Wednesday as officials outlined how they would implement a proposed agreement for Sweden to send up to 600 inmates to the facility from late next year. The inter-governmental deal, which has yet to be approved by either country's parliament, is one of many plans worldwide to tackle prison overcrowding - a critical challenge in a third of European countries according to a report published this month. With around 600 of 933 places in Tartu Prison vacant, officers showed journalists around the facility, completed in 2002, as part of efforts to promote the idea locally as well as to the public across the Baltic Sea in wealthier Sweden. Sweden will pay 8,500 euros a month per inmate in Estonia saving on the average 11,500 euros a month cost in Sweden. Estonia will make its own checks of prisoners selected to be sent to Tartu, and will have right to send prisoners back, said Rait Kuuse, head of Estonian Prison and Probation Service. "We don't take those who are organisers in organised crime networks, who adhere to radical extremism," he said. Some people in Tartu, Estonia's second biggest city after the capital Tallinn, believe the scheme will bring jobs and a boost for the economy while others fear a negative effect on the local community, he said. Certain prisoners would be excluded from transfer, Martin Gilla, Head of Office for International Affairs at Sweden's Prison and Probation Service told Reuters. "We will not send juveniles, we'll not send women. That's one thing that we have come up with. We will also not send people that have been convicted for the worst crimes as well and have high risks," he said. Estonia is one of the few European countries to have recorded a drop in its incarceration rate, which declined 12% last year from 2023, while Sweden, where gang-related violence has increased, recorded a 15.5% rise over the same period. The rate, published in the report by the continent's leading human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, records the number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. Gilla said Sweden, which had a prison occupancy rate of 141% in May, was increasing capacity and has considered options such as prison barges, but that idea was eventually dropped. At Tartu, the prison interior was painted in bright yellow and violet, with wooden furniture and bunk beds. There were art and music rooms and Knuse said inmates would have access to tablets for videocalling their families at home. Issues still to be resolved include rehabilitation programmes, challenges related to visiting by family and friends, and assuring the right to exercise religion. The plans are among many such ideas in the region. Belgium and Norway have in the past hired prison places in the Netherlands, while Denmark signed a deal with Kosovo in May 2024, a move criticised by Danish human rights experts. Finland appointed a working group in November to look into the possibility of renting prison places abroad. (Reporting by Ints Kalnins, Andrius Sytas and Marie Mannes, Essi Lehto writing by Krisztina Than, editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Moldovan president warns of Russian interference in September vote
Maia Sandu has been a vocal critic of Russia, particularly since the start of the Ukraine war. (EPA Images pic) CHISINAU : Moldova's pro-European president Maia Sandu today accused Russia of seeking to meddle in the September national elections, warning that Moscow was planning 'unprecedented' action to 'get its people into the next parliament'. Sandu, a vocal critic of Russia, in particular since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has repeatedly accused Moscow of political interference in the former Soviet republic that lies between war-torn Ukraine and EU and Nato member Romania. Fears of Russian meddling have been looming large as Sandu has been steering Moldova toward official EU accession talks that started in June 2024. 'The Russian federation wants to control Moldova from the fall and is preparing an unprecedented interference in the September elections,' including by vote buying and illicit financing through cryptocurrencies for which '€100 million' have been earmarked, Sandu told a press conference today. The head of state, who won last year's re-election, detailed the plans Moscow has allegedly put in place ahead of the vote. Sandu said the Kremlin was planning to launch 'information manipulation campaigns' and cyber attacks, and organise paid 'violent' protests, while also looking to exploit traditional religious structures. She accused the two main opposition forces of taking advantage of Moscow's purported plans to deprive her centre-right Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) of its parliamentary majority. Sandu was referring to people affiliated to fugitive pro-Russian politician Ilan Shor, who she said was leading a 'criminal group' that was aiming to destabilise the country by protests and 'creating networks of vote buying'. Furthermore, she called out the Russian-financed 'sovereignist' force that promotes Euroscepticism and the subordination of the country's interests to those of Moscow. Lastly, 'the moderate pro-European electorate' was being targeted in a bid to sow doubt among it, including by sabotaging the electoral process overseas. 'All these projects are coordinated from the same command point' in Moscow, she said. According to a recent poll, Sandu's PAS is currently leading with 39% support, followed by the pro-Russian opposition Socialist party at 14.9%. However, about 30% of citizens say they are still undecided. Earlier this year, police said that more than 140,000 people in the country of 2.5 million are being investigated over a cash-for-votes scheme during the last presidential election. In the past, authorities have accused pro-Russian media and activists of disseminating disinformation in Moldova, with scores of outlets and Telegram channels being shut down. Sandu criticised Telegram for not responding to reports regarding voter corruption on its platform.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Oil shock looms as Trump cuts Russia deadline to 10 days
UNITED States President Donald Trump unexpectedly shortened his deadline for hitting Russia with the most severe sanctions on its oil exports to date. While the market has called the president's bluff thus far, the sheer scale of the threat may force investors to start pricing in this meaningful tail risk. Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump said he was giving Moscow only 10 to 12 days to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine before he would impose so-called secondary sanctions on its oil exports, cutting short his previous 50-day timeframe set on July 14. The sanctions would slap 100 per cent tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, with the biggest customers being India and China. This move has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies, given that Russia exported 4.68 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in June, around 4.5 per cent of global demand, as well as 2.5 million bpd of refined products, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Going through with the secondary tariffs on Russia risks causing a severe spike in oil prices that could put upward pressure on US inflation, an outcome that could stay Trump's hand, even if he is "disappointed" in Russian President Vladimir Putin. And there have been several headline-grabbing moments in recent months where the Republican president has rowed back on his threats, including the "reciprocal tariffs" originally announced on April 2 that he quickly toned down in the face of market pressure. But Trump has also made good on some of his threats, most notably the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities on June 22. Unlike his initial announcement on secondary tariffs, which investors appeared to shrug off, oil prices rose by nearly three per cent on Monday. So his erratic Russia policy may make some investors wary of writing off the risk altogether. The next question is, would secondary tariffs — a relatively untested, blunt financial weapon — be effective? The answer is probably yes. One of Russia's key customers, India — the largest importer of seaborne Russian crude in June at 1.5 million bpd — is currently engaged in tense trade talks with the US. New Delhi is, therefore, unlikely to want to exacerbate trade tensions with Washington and thus may be apt to ditch Moscow in favour of new, though undoubtedly more expensive, energy sources. On the other hand, China, which imported around two million bpd of Russian oil in June via pipeline and by sea, is less likely to change its buying patterns since it already faces several layers of US tariffs and considers its ties with Moscow to be strategic. But the Kremlin's finances would still be squeezed regardless if India were to cease purchasing Russian oil, as China would likely be able to buy it even more cheaply. The scale of the potential new sanctions' impact on the global oil market is hard to gauge, given current supply and demand dynamics. World oil demand is expected to grow by 700,000 bpd this year, its lowest rate since 2009, while supplies are forecast to rise sharply by 2.1 million bpd to 105.1 million bpd, according to the IEA. The growth in supply has been driven in recent months mostly by output increases by the Saudi Arabia-led oil producing group collectively known as Opec+. The group in April started unwinding 2.2 million bpd of production cuts and upped the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) production quota by 300,000 bpd. The Opec+ production increases have led, naturally, to a decline in the group's spare production capacity, but Saudi Arabia still held, as of June, 2.3 million bpd of production it can bring on stream within 90 days, while the UAE and Kuwait held 900,000 bpd and 600,000 bpd of spare capacity, respectively. This means that the three Gulf producers could ramp up output relatively quickly in the event of a sudden supply disruption. But that knowledge is unlikely to be enough to calm markets should Trump impose his secondary sanctions, partly because of the uncertainty surrounding possible retaliatory measures by Moscow. Trump's latest threat could be an empty one, but it has shortened the fuse of a timebomb that oil markets might struggle to ignore.
