Ukrainians are losing confidence in Zelensky
This legislation subordinates Ukraine's two primary anti-corruption bodies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo), to the control of a prosecutor general appointed by president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Bill 12414 is provoking outrage in Ukraine for two reasons. First, it is regarded as a major step backward in Ukraine's anti-corruption struggle. During his first years in power, Zelensky was accused of using criminal investigations to undermine political rivals like pro-Russian Opposition Bloc leader Viktor Medvedchuk and former president Petro Poroshenko. This perception of selective justice reduced his popularity and sullied his reputation as a reformer.
Since Russia's invasion began in February 2022, Zelensky has tried to transform that image through bold anti-corruption crackdowns. After reports were released about the Ukrainian defence ministry procuring eggs for soldiers above market prices, Zelensky dismissed his widely praised defence minister Oleksii Reznikov in September 2023; though Reznikov was not personally accused of corruption, he failed to tackle it.
Zelensky also fired officials in charge of military recruitment over men escaping conscription. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) opened investigations into five individuals for purchasing $40 million in mortar shells that were not delivered to the Ukrainian army.
While these grand gestures were widely praised by the international community and corruption-weary Ukrainians, Bill 12414 has reignited old criticisms of Zelensky's politicised approach to crime-fighting. The heated turf war between the SBU and Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, which has seen Nabu agents raided for alleged collaboration with Russia, will only polarise Ukrainian society further.
Second, it deals a major blow to Ukraine's aspirations of joining the European Union (EU), and could jeopardize long-term American support for Ukraine. The EU's enlargement commissioner Marta Kos described Bill 12414 as a 'serious step back' and insisted that Ukraine's European path hinged on independent anti-corruption agencies.
Critics within the Maga movement of president Donald Trump's pro-Ukraine pivot also keenly pounced on Zelensky's decision. Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, called upon Ukraine's protesters to overthrow Zelensky and reiterated her opposition to military aid to Ukraine. Bill 12414 is likely to revive calls within the Republican Party for closer auditing of arms transfers to Ukraine, which could delay vital weapons supplies to the frontline.
While these rationales are ample grounds for protest, the unrest we are seeing also reflects a broader cleavage within Ukrainian society. Due to wartime martial law restrictions and the indefinite postponement of presidential elections, Zelensky has been able to consolidate near-absolute power in Ukraine.
It is telling that even Zelensky's long-standing political opponents enthusiastically supported Bill 12414. Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who came third in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential elections after Zelensky and Poroshenko, accused Ukraine's Western partners of trying to control Kyiv through Nabu and Sapo.
Aside from co-opting once potent opposition forces, Zelensky has also concentrated power in the hands of his unelected advisor Andriy Yermak and taken insufficient action against the harassment of anti-corruption whistleblowers.
In January 2024, Transparency International Ukraine warned that 'attacks on journalists are becoming systematic' and in April 2024, 16 Ukrainian human rights organisations published a manifesto against these practices.
These heavy-handed actions are fuelling the perception that Zelensky is becoming increasingly power-hungry and authoritarian. The slogans 'We chose Europe, not autocracy' and 'My father did not die for this' on the streets of Kyiv exemplify this trend.
Even if the SBU finds hard evidence of pro-Russian activity in Nabu, which is plausible given Opposition Bloc MP Fedir Khrystenko's alleged networks, Zelensky will find it hard to play down concerns that he is exercising power for its sake.
Zelensky's support for Bill 12414 is an unforced error that threatens Ukraine's greatest strength: its unflappable wartime resolve.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Theme park racist loses his job for shouting anti-Hispanic slur in line at Knott's Berry Farm
A theme park patron was fired from his job after he was caught shouting a racist, anti-Hispanic slur during an argument at Knott's Berry Farm. While waiting in line for a ride at the iconic Buena Park, California amusement park on July 12, the man hurled the remark at another visitor during a heated exchange. 'F*****g wetback,' he was heard screaming in a damning clip that has gained significant traction on social media. The derogatory term refers to Mexican immigrants who enter the US by swimming across the Rio Grande. It is unclear what sparked the verbal altercation. The man's identity could not be independently verified. Another video also captured at Knott's allegedly showed the same man getting into a physical fight later in the day, the Orange County Register reported. After he put his hands on someone, security guards kicked him out of the theme park. It is not clear if police got involved or if the man faces any charges. Once the situation blew up, news of his offensive outburst made its way to his employer, the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) in Perris. His employer ultimately decided his behavior was unacceptable and booted him from his position. 'EMWD is committed to guiding principles that include respect, integrity, accountability, and maintaining a safe environment for all employees, customers, and the communities we serve,' the company wrote to the Orange County Register. 'We remain dedicated to our mission, vision, and guiding principles to provide safe, reliable services to our customers and ensuring that every individual is treated with dignity and respect.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Knott's Berry Farm and the EMWD for comment and confirmation of the man's identity. The Daily Mail also contacted Buena Park Police to inquire about potential charges. Apparently, the ex-water service worker was not the only person launching racially-motivated attacks at Knott's on July 12. Another woman was filmed as she threatened to call ICE on a park employee and made several other racist comments. Security guards quickly stepped in and the woman was banned from Knott's for life, according to the Orange County Register. 'Providing a safe, respectful, and family-friendly atmosphere is the type of experience our guests expect and deserve and is a responsibility that the park takes very seriously,' Knott's wrote in a statement to the outlet. 'We have zero tolerance for any type of inappropriate behavior.' Knott's Berry Farm is a popular amusement park run by Six Flags. It offers families 160 acres of rollercoasters, shows and other attractions inspired by Golden State history.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
The Islamo-Left alliance is already breaking down
The most sinister thing to happen in British politics in my lifetime, bar Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour party, has been the election of councillors and MPs running on a ticket of radical pro-Palestinianism and vicious anti-Zionism. Shockat Adam, independent MP for Leicester South, held up a keffiyeh on hearing his result. Adnan Hussain, MP for Blackburn, told a Free Palestine rally in 2014: 'They let Gaza burn, they hate Gaza… Now let's make Israel burn, let's make Israel burn.' Electing four MPs, the Greens did better than their wildest dreams at last year's general election. Trashing Israel with their whole heart and soul was part of their appeal. Fesl Reza-Khan, who signed up to the Greens because they (falsely) called Israel's campaign a 'genocide', helped create a Muslim Greens group. 'A lot of us are from ethnic minority backgrounds. What I see in Gaza, I think: 'Hang on, that's happened to me, that's happened to my forefathers, that whole occupation, exploitation, colonisation'.' Right then. But because Labour and the Tories refrained from calling Israel's defensive campaign after October 7 a genocide, Mr Reza-Khan concluded they were 'actually gaslighting me, telling me, 'that's not happening, that's not what I'm seeing'. And I don't need to be told what I'm seeing and witnessing.' One of the most bizarre Green election successes was gardening columnist Mothin Ali taking a seat on Leeds City Council. 'We will raise the voice of Gaza. We will raise the voice of Palestine. Allahu akbar!', he cried on winning, dressed in full religious garb and draped in a keffiyeh. But the Islamo-Left alliance is beginning to fray with almost comic predictability. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there will be considerable divergence between a party that is all guns blazing for LGBTQ+ rights and a constituency that embraces the ultra-conservative credos of Sharia law, under which even immodesty in women, to say nothing of homosexuality, is most certainly banned and, in many Muslim societies, punishable on occasion by death. Exchanges like the following have been livening up social media this week: 'Mate, if you're 'socially conservative', then you're not on the Left. End of', wrote one Mathew Fulton. This triggered a reply by independent MP Hussain arguing that minorities aren't 'privileged with the black and white clarity of an obvious political home on either the Left or Right'. This kind of fracturing over the socially Leftist politics of a party like the Greens, or indeed the emerging Corbynista party, is hardly a surprise. But what remains to be seen is if such issues will end up overpowering the anti-Israel sentiment that currently unites the Left's motley crew of alliances. Britain's Muslim vote is growing – my bet is that those appealing to Islamic-inclined voters will win out over the Leftists.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pam Bondi takes action against anti-Trump judge for 'misconduct' in mass deportation case
Attorney General Pam Bondi is reprimanding the chief judge for the district court of Washington, D.C. for his comments about President Donald Trump. Judge James Boasberg expressed at a March conference concern that President Donald Trump would cause a constitutional crisis by going against federal judges. The Justice Department on Monday filed a misconduct complaint against the chief judge in relation to these comments. Bondi claims that Boasberg's remarks 'undermined' judicial integrity. Reports emerged earlier this month that in the March Judicial Conference, the District of Columbia's chief judge raised concerns to colleagues that the Trump administration would cause a 'constitutional crisis' by disregarding federal court rulings. A memo, reported earlier this month, summarized the working breakfast and noted that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who presides over the conference, defended Trump against Boasberg's concerns. Boasberg's comments came just a few days before he ordered the Trump administration halt removals of illegal immigrants to El Salvador as courts considered the legality of his mass deportation operations. 'Today at my direction, [the Justice Department] filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration,' Bondi wrote on Monday in a post to X. 'These comments have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that,' she added. The week of March 11 this year, members of the Judicial Conference met in the nation's capital for the first of its two regular meetings. This group is the national policymaking body for federal courts, the website explains. A memo from the gathering notes: 'District of the District of Columbia Chief Judge James Boasberg next raised his colleagues' concerns that the Administration would disregard rulings of federal courts leading to a constitutional crisis.' 'Chief Justice Roberts expressed hope that would not happen and in turn no constitutional crisis would materialize,' according to the memo. It also said Roberts made clear 'his interactions with the President have been civil and respectful, such as the President thanking him at the state of the union address for administering the oath.' Just 12 days after the Federalist reported on the memo, AG Bondi took action against Judge Boasberg. Revelations of the comments make clear an anti-Trump bias that Judge Boasberg holds. Trump has been critical of Boasberg and claims he is a 'highly conflicted' judge. The president says that the judge is 'disgraceful' and suffering from 'massive Trump Derangement Syndrome.' Boasberg's comments about President Donald Trump came during a Judicial Conference in March – just days later the judge ordered the administration halt deportation flights after a challenge was filed against Trump's deportation of illegal immigrants without due process He came under immense criticism when on March 15 he issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's deportation flights. Trump responded to the halt by calling for Boasberg's impeachment and claiming he was trying to usurp the presidency. He wrote on Truth Social that Boasberg is a 'Radical Left Lunatic Judge' and 'troublemaker.' The pause came after the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of five illegal Venezuela immigrants who Trump was deporting without due process. The administration was using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The wartime law is usually used during 'declared' conflicts to allow deportations without court proceedings. Boasberg argued it may not apply to a criminal gang since they are not a sanctioned government entity.
