logo
Thousands gather to protest as Zelenskyy signs bill weakening anti-corruption agencies

Thousands gather to protest as Zelenskyy signs bill weakening anti-corruption agencies

The Hill3 days ago
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday to urge the president to veto a controversial bill that threatens anti-corruption infrastructure. It marked the first major rally against the government in more than three years of war.
Ukraine 's parliament passed legislation that will tighten oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies, which critics say could significantly weaken their independence and give President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's circle greater sway over investigations. Zelenskyy signed the bill into law, according to the parliament's website late Tuesday.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid. The legislation's passage has triggered public outrage in Ukraine, with some saying it appeared to be a greater moral blow than the routine Russian drone and missile attacks.
The changes would grant the prosecutor general new authority over investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
'In effect, if this bill becomes law, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, while NABU will lose its independence and turn into a subdivision of the prosecutor general's office,' the agencies said in a joint statement on Telegram.
In a post on X, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern over the vote in the parliament, called the Rada, calling it 'a serious step back.'
Kos added: 'Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine's EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations.'
While rallies have taken place during the war in Ukraine, they have largely focused on the return of prisoners of war or missing people. Protests, however, remain a traditional form of public pressure in Ukraine, where two previous revolutions were victorious for the public.
'Corruption is a problem in any country, and it must always be fought,' said Ihor Lachenkov, a blogger and activist who urged people to join the protest through his social media platforms, which reach more than 1.5 million followers.
'Ukraine has far fewer resources than Russia in this war,' he said. 'If we misuse them, or worse, allow them to end up in the pockets of thieves, our chances of victory diminish. All our resources must go toward the fight.'
The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticized parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and damages trust with international partners.
The group urged Zelenskyy to veto the law, warning that otherwise he would share responsibility with the Rada for 'dismantling Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure.'
Many protesters carried signs reading 'Veto the law,' 'Protect the anti-corruption system, protect Ukraine's future,' or simply 'We are against it.'
The mood of anger and frustration among the war-weary Ukrainians prevailed in the crowd. Some protesters accused Ukraine's leadership of prioritizing loyalty and personal connections over the fight against corruption.
'Those who swore to protect the laws and the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy,' said veteran Oleh Symoroz, sitting in a wheelchair because both his legs were amputated after he was wounded in 2022.
'Instead of setting an example of zero tolerance for corruption, the president is using his power to take control of criminal cases involving his allies,' he said.
On Monday, Ukraine's domestic security agency detained two NABU officials on suspicion of links to Russia and searched other agency employees on unrelated allegations.
Zelenskyy's office didn't respond to a request for comment. Last week, the president carried out a reshuffle of his wartime Cabinet, a move widely viewed as further consolidating power within his inner circle.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israeli gunshots and strikes kill at least 25 in Gaza, some while seeking aid
Israeli gunshots and strikes kill at least 25 in Gaza, some while seeking aid

Hamilton Spectator

time6 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Israeli gunshots and strikes kill at least 25 in Gaza, some while seeking aid

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight killed at least 25 people, according to Palestinian health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Gaza faces famine. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Israel's army didn't respond to a request for comments about the latest shootings. Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City, among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the U.S and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas . His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. Experts and the UN warn of famine For desperate Palestinians, a ceasefire can't come soon enough. The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. While Israel's army says it's allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the U.N. says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. Israel's military said at the time its soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. During the shootings Friday night, Sherif Abu Aisha said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from the aid trucks, but as they got close, they realized it was from Israel's tanks. That's when the army started firing on people, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle, a father of eight, was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed,' he said. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and over 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food . For the first time in months, Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the U.K. was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza. Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday that it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies. It said it's trying to serve 60,000 meals daily through its field kitchen and partner community kitchens, less than half of what it's cooked over the previous month. — Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Men Are Already Writing Off Ukraine's New Prime Minister
Men Are Already Writing Off Ukraine's New Prime Minister

Atlantic

time7 minutes ago

  • Atlantic

Men Are Already Writing Off Ukraine's New Prime Minister

This month, the Ukrainian government made an unusual choice for its new prime minister. In a rare move for the country—and indeed for most of Eastern Europe—it picked a woman. Yulia Svyrydenko, a 39-year-old selected by President Volodymyr Zelensky and approved by Parliament, will lead the government in a period of intense uncertainty, as Russia escalates its offensive, Europe revamps its security commitments, and the Trump administration waffles on the war. Some Ukrainian and Western observers have suggested that Svyrydenko isn't up to the task, in part because they characterize her as a mere 'loyalist' to Zelensky. She ' would do everything saluting, without fail,' an anonymous source in Zelensky's party told New Voice, a Ukrainian magazine. 'I don't believe she can reform our country,' Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of Parliament, told me as he left a legislative session last week where he'd voted against her candidacy. 'If she tries to criticize the president, she will end up like General Zaluzhny,' he continued, referring to Ukraine's former army chief, whom Zelensky had dismissed after their differences became public. The new prime minister is also facing overtly sexist criticism. 'Svyrydenko is exactly the girl who all of you, dear students, are familiar with from school: She always sits at the front desk' and 'carefully writes down the teacher's notes,' Oleh Posternak, a Ukrainian political strategist, wrote in a Facebook post that a national media site republished. Very few women have led former Soviet states, and they have virtually all received this kind of disparagement from men. In 2018, Georgia elected its first female president, Salome Zourabichvili, who'd run as an independent. Before she even took office, political observers called her a 'finger puppet' of the billionaire leader of the ruling party, which had endorsed her. Today, many in Georgia credit Zourabichvili with uniting the opposition, and she condemned as 'totally falsified' a recent election won by the party of her former patron. In Moldova, many discounted Maia Sandu, who became the country's first female president in 2020. Sandu's rival in the race, the pro-Russian incumbent, Igor Dodon, criticized her for not having children—a line of attack that MAGA would later take up against Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. In Dodon's view, Sandu's lack of offspring meant that she was ' not interested in what is happening in the country.' Her opponents launched a misinformation campaign about her, much of which centered on the coronavirus pandemic. 'The fake news scared people that I would close schools, hospitals, and even churches,' Sandu told me at the time. Instead, Sandu invested in the country's medical and educational sectors, recruited European Union support for her agenda, and oversaw funding for the restoration of Orthodox churches. She has also been an effective reformer, working to root out the country's extensive corruption. Anne Applebaum: The country that suffers whenever Russia schemes Svyrydenko has a chance to leave a similar legacy in Ukraine. She has ample experience working with foreign governments, whose support is now existentially important to Ukraine. Early in her career, she served as the country's only permanent representative in China, bringing investment to her hometown of Chernihiv. As deputy prime minister, Svyrydenko negotiated billion-dollar reconstruction projects and trade agreements with the European Commission and Emirati leaders, as well as a $400 million investment from Turkish business interests. She also helped broker a natural-resources agreement with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to create a joint investment fund to rebuild Ukraine. Her appointment last week was part of a larger government reshuffle by Zelensky, who reassigned the previous prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, to the role of defense minister. In her new role, Svyrydenko will be tasked with rehabilitating the economy, boosting the domestic production of weapons, and strengthening Ukraine's armed forces, in part by securing financing from allies and the International Monetary Fund. One of her first actions as prime minister was to advance talks with the United States about a major potential investment in Ukraine's drone industry. Nevertheless, and despite her strong résumé, Svyrydenko will have to contend with broad reservations in Ukraine about female leadership. According to a 2020 study conducted by the research group Rating, Ukrainians are more likely to prefer male political executives. Sometimes bad actors take advantage of this trust gap. Katerina Sergatskova, the executive director of the 2402 Foundation, which supports and trains Ukrainian journalists, has seen many Ukrainian women in public life become the target of harassment. 'It is political sexism. The attacks are well-organized campaigns,' Sergatskova told me. She has experienced such a campaign herself, which included death threats that forced her to stay out of Ukraine for a time. Sergatskova noted that many in Ukraine are comparing Svyrydenko to the country's first female prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, who took office in 2005 and faced several corruption charges. One case resulted in a criminal conviction against her and two and a half years in prison, which the U.S. condemned as politically motivated. After the 2014 revolution, which ousted Ukraine's pro-Russian regime, the supreme court overruled Tymoshenko's conviction and ordered her release. Nevertheless, a large majority of the Ukrainian public still don't trust her. Zelensky has fought against Ukraine's abiding suspicion of female politicians by promoting a new generation of them into leadership positions. In addition to picking Svyrydenko as prime minister, he also announced the appointment of Olha Stefanishyna as Ukraine's new special representative to the United States. The approach sets him apart from Vladimir Putin. Valentina Matviyenko, one of two women who serve on the Russian president's permanent security council, put on a Barbie-pink suit last year and derided feminism as 'an anti-male, anti-traditional-values movement.' Meanwhile, Russia bans and prosecutes feminist groups, and Putin tells Russian women to have 'minimum two children.' For those who fear that Svyrydenko will be no more than a Zelensky loyalist, she is already facing her first test. This week, Zelensky tightened the administration's control over two independent agencies tasked with fighting government corruption. Sevgil Musayeva, the editor in chief of the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, described the move as a step toward authoritarianism. 'Svyrydenko has a chance to act now and speak against this decision that is undermining democracy, which our soldiers are dying for,' Musayeva told me. 'But such action would require a lot of her courage.' Two days after Zelensky reined in the government watchdogs, Svyrydenko met with G7 ambassadors in Kyiv to discuss anti-corruption policy —a subtle acknowledgment, perhaps, that the president had gone too far. But not everyone is convinced that Svyrydenko will be able to stand up to Zelensky. 'Officially, we are a parliamentary-presidential republic,' Goncharenko, the legislator, told me last week. 'I wish that were true. But we live in wartime; the decisions are made by the president.' Goncharenko isn't holding out hope that Svyrdrydenko will be able to make her own choices: 'If she contradicts his policy, he will simply fire her.'

Trade deals fuel Wall Street gains while Trump renews Fed attack
Trade deals fuel Wall Street gains while Trump renews Fed attack

Yahoo

time23 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trade deals fuel Wall Street gains while Trump renews Fed attack

Wall Street closed the week higher, with tech-heavy indices notching fresh records as upbeat corporate earnings, resilient macro data and breakthrough trade deals converged to boost risk appetite. The U.S. finalized new trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. The Tokyo deal was the most significant, locking in a reduction in tariffs on Japanese autos and goods from 25% to 15%, while Japan pledged $550 billion in investment and improved access to American-made goods. A U.S.-EU trade deal is now reportedly close, expected to align with the Japan framework and potentially ease existing tariff rates ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. Separately, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost the U.S. artificial intelligence sector by promoting the export of full-stack AI systems to trusted global partners. The White House said the move is aimed at strengthening economic leadership and national security. Among the week's strongest performers, Thermo Fisher Scientific rallied over 12%, topping the leaderboard for large-cap stocks, followed by T-Mobile US, up 9%. Within the Magnificent Seven, Alphabet rose by 1% after delivering better-than-expected results and raising its 2025 capex outlook by $10 billion, reinforcing its commitment to scaling AI infrastructure. More: S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 hit fresh highs as even retail scores wins over the week Tesla dropped 8.2% following cautious commentary from CEO Elon Musk, who warned that upcoming quarters could prove challenging amid rising costs and margin pressures. Economic indicators added fuel to the rally. U.S. business activity surprised to the upside, with the Composite Purchasing Managers' Index climbing to a seven-month high in July, helped by expansion in services and steady consumer strength. Trump's push to influence monetary policy continued with an unannounced visit to the Federal Reserve's headquarters in Washington, D.C. — the first by a sitting president in nearly 20 years. Wearing a hard hat alongside Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump criticized the central bank's renovation project, claiming costs had surged to $3.1 billion. Powell countered on the spot, clarifying that the real cost is closer to $2.5 billion, excluding unrelated construction. Pressed on rate policy, Trump said, 'I'd love to see him lower interest rates.' Markets now shift focus to the July 30 Fed meeting, where expectations remain anchored for a hold — but not without growing political heat. Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trade deals fuel Wall Street gains while Trump renews Fed attack Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store