Zelenskyy faces backlash as Ukrainians protest new anti-corruption law
The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.
Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill passed by Ukraine's Parliament earlier that day, which tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies.
After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in the center of Kyiv at 8 pm on Wednesday.
Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion.
Instead of vetoing the bill as protestors demanded, Zelenskyy signed it into law and argued for it, in a move that risked his public support after more than three years of war with Russia.
Zelenskyy said the measure clears out 'Russian influence' from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were yearslong delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money. 'This is what Ukraine really needs,' Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post after midnight Wednesday.
'The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated.'
'For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason – in very nice countries and without legal consequences – and this is not normal,' he said.
He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Ahead of Trump–Putin talks, Zelenskyy urges support for US ceasefire efforts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine and its allies should work together to back all constructive steps by the United States aimed at reaching a ceasefire. 'There have been many calls in recent days, many contacts at various levels,' Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app after speaking with the Czech prime minister. 'All are united by the understanding that the war must be brought to an end and that Europe must develop a common position on every important security aspect.' Zelenskyy's comments came ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'in the coming days', as a US deadline approaches for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine or face economic penalties. On Thursday, Putin had named the United Arab Emirates as one of the possible venues for a meeting with Trump, calling it a 'suitable' location for high-level talks.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
26 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India must not yield to US pressure in trade talks: Amitabh Kant
India should never lose its strategic autonomy, never yield to pressure while negotiating trade deals with the US, former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Friday, while suggesting that the country should look at a long-term perspective and behave in a calm and collected manner. Speaking at the Business Today India@100 event, Kant said India should use trade-related uncertainties as a unique opportunity to carry out very vigorous reforms in the economy. "We still have 20 days for these (US) tariffs to kick in. We should never yield to pressure, but we should negotiate in a very rational manner, in a sensible manner, and I think there is plenty of time to be able to arrive at an agreement," he said. On August 6, the United States announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on all Indian imports, on top of an existing 25 per cent duty, taking the total duty to 50 per cent effective August 27. The White House said the measure was in response to India's continued purchase of Russian oil. "My view is that we should never lose our strategic autonomy. We have never lost that strategic autonomy, even during the Cold War period. "And India should never bend, but we should behave in a very cool, calm and collected manner, as is being done at present. And we should look at a long-term perspective on this," Kant said. The former NITI Aayog CEO also said there is a critical need to simplify the goods and services tax (GST) regime and eliminate unnecessary rules and procedures -- especially at the state level. "Even startups are taking too long just to register. My key message: no rules, no policies, no laws more than two pages," he said. Kant also pitched for radically improving the personal income tax on which a lot of work has already been done. US President Donald Trump's "dead economy" jibe, he said India is anything but a dead economy because India is the fastest-growing large economy. "We are the fourth largest economy in the world. "We will shortly be the third largest economy in the world, more than anything else, India has carried out very major structural reforms in its economy," Kant said. Kant suggested that the government should give a massive thrust to travel and tourism, because it is tariff proof. "We should be getting tourists from abroad, because... there is no tariff," he pointed out. Noting that India is bigger than 24 countries of Europe, Kant said every state of India must have its brand and every state must push for tourism. Kant emphasised that India needs just 12 champion states growing at 10 per cent to lift national growth to 9 per cent. "You already have growth coming from the south and west. Now the opportunity lies in the east... These are mineral-rich states. There's no reason they should not be growing at 9-10 per cent per annum," he said.
Scroll.in
26 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
As US tariffs kick in, Trump may have won many battles but lost the war
Last week, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order updating the 'reciprocal' tariff rates that had been paused since April. Nearly all US trading partners are now staring down tariffs of between 10% and 50%. After a range of baseline and sector-specific tariffs came into effect earlier this year, many economists had predicted economic chaos. So far, the inflationary impact has been less than many predicted. However, there are worrying signs that could all soon change, as economic pain flows through to the US consumer. Decoding the deals Trump's latest adjustments weren't random acts of economic warfare. They revealed a hierarchy, and a pattern has emerged. Countries running goods trade deficits with the US (that is, buying more than they sell to the US), which also have security relationships with the US, get 10%. This includes Australia. Japan and South Korea, which both have security relationships with the US, were hit with 15% tariffs, likely due to their large trade surpluses with the US. But the rest of Asia? That's where Trump is really turning the screws. Asian nations now face average tariffs of 22.1%. Countries that negotiated with Trump, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, all got 19%, the 'discount rate' for Asian countries willing to make concessions. India faces a 25% rate, plus potential penalties for trading with Russia. Is Trump winning the trade war? In the current trade war, it is unsurprising that despite threats to do so, no countries have actually imposed retaliatory tariffs on US products, with the exception of China and Canada. Doing so would drive up their consumer prices, reduce economic activity, and invite Trump to escalate, possibly limiting access to the lucrative US market. Instead, nations that negotiated 'deals' with the Trump administration have essentially accepted elevated reciprocal tariff rates to maintain a measure of access to the US market. For many of these countries, this was despite making major concessions, such as dropping their own tariffs on US exports, promising to reform certain domestic regulations, and purchasing various US goods. Protests over the weekend, including in India and South Korea, suggested many of these tariff negotiations were not popular. Even the European Union has struck a deal accepting US tariff rates that once would have seemed unthinkable – 15%. Trump's confusing Russia-Ukraine war strategy has worried European leaders. Rather than risk US strategic withdrawal, they appear to have simply folded on tariffs. Some deals are still pending. Notably, Taiwan, which received a higher reciprocal tariff (20%) than Japan and South Korea, claims it is still negotiating. Through the narrow prism of deal making, it is hard not to escape the conclusion that Trump has gotten his way with everyone – except China and Canada. He has imposed elevated US tariffs on many countries, but also negotiated to secure increased export market access for US firms and promised purchases of planes, agriculture and energy. Why economic chaos hasn't arrived – yet Imposing tariffs on goods coming into the US effectively creates a tax on US consumers and manufacturers. It drives up the prices of both finished goods (products) and intermediate goods (components) used in manufacturing. Yet the Yale Budget Lab estimates the tariffs will cause consumer prices to rise by 1.8% this year. This muted inflationary impact is likely a result of exports to the US being 'front-loaded' before the tariffs took effect. Many US importers rushed to stockpile goods in the country ahead of the deadline. It may also reflect some companies choosing to ' eat the tariffs ' by not passing the full cost to their customers, hoping they can ride things out until Trump ' chickens out ' and the tariffs are removed or reduced. Who really pays Despite Trump's repeated claims that tariffs are a tax paid by foreign countries, research consistently shows that US companies and consumers bear the tariff burden. Already this year, General Motors reported that tariffs cost it US$1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2025. A new 50% tariff on semi-finished copper products took effect on August 1. That announcement in July sent copper prices soaring by 13% in a single day. This affects everything from electrical wiring to plumbing, with costs ultimately passed to US consumers. The average US tariff rate now sits at 18.3%, the highest level since 1934. This represents a staggering increase from just 2.4% when Trump took office in January. This trade-weighted average means that, on typical imported goods, Americans will pay nearly one-fifth more in taxes. Alarm bells The US Federal Reserve is concerned about these potential price impacts, and last week opted to maintain interest rates at their current levels, despite Trump's pressure on Chairman Jerome Powell. And on August 1, economic data released in the US showed significant slowing in job creation, some worrying signs in economic growth, and early signs of business investment paralysis due to the economic uncertainty unleashed by Trump's ever-changing tariff rates. Trump responded to the report by firing the US Bureau of Labour Statistics commissioner, a shock move that led to widespread concerns official US data could soon become politicised. But the worst economic impacts could still be yet to come. The domestic consequences of Trump's tariff policies are likely to amount to a massive economic own goal.
