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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Protests flare in Ukraine as Zelensky reins in corruption watchdogs
Advertisement The law, which was passed by parliament deputies and signed quickly by Zelensky on Tuesday, places Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the control of the general prosecutor's office. Critics say this will effectively abolish the two bodies' independence. The two institutions, which have previously functioned free of outside control, are the main anti-corruption bodies created since Ukraine's 2014 Maidan Revolution, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in part because they were fed up with rampant corruption under Ukraine's president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych. On Wednesday, Zelensky met with the heads of the country's law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies, including NABU and SAPO, he wrote on social media. Advertisement 'We all hear what society has to say,' Zelensky wrote, adding that the group would draft an 'action plan' in two weeks time. However, after the meeting NABU and SAPO issued a joint statement, in which they said that the 'legislative changes adopted yesterday significantly limit' their independence. 'To restore full and independent work, clear and unambiguous steps are needed at the legislative level to restore the guarantees that were abolished by parliament,' the statement said. In Zelensky's regular evening address posted on social media, he framed the law as an effort to strengthen the work of the two bodies so that they can conclude cases more quickly. Criminal cases against officials have been 'hanging for years' without any results, he said. But Ukrainian lawmakers who voted against the legislation said Zelensky severely underestimated both the domestic and international response to the move, which critics see as an effort to rein in groups tasked with investigating legitimate corruption cases — including those that may be close to the president's inner circle. 'My assumption is that he probably thought that if he did it very quickly, it would just fade away,' said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a lawmaker from Ukraine's European Solidarity party who voted against the law and has worked extensively on Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. The move appeared to reflect Zelensky's growing distance from the generation that ushered in a new democratic era after the 2014 revolution — many of whom are now among those fighting on the front lines for the same democratic values they protested for more than a decade ago. Hearing her fellow lawmakers whoop and cheer as they passed a law she saw as scraping away the democratic foundations of Ukraine's society was surreal, Klympush-Tsintsadze said. 'It was the sound of revenge,' she said, from lawmakers who she believes were angry that anti-corruption groups were getting too close to them or Zelensky. Advertisement 'The scariest thing is that it will be used by our foes,' she said, to try to paint Ukraine as a nation that remains mired in corruption. Russia, which has long amplified the narrative of corruption in Ukraine, was quick to leap on the development. 'There is a lot of corruption in the country. The money of American taxpayers and European taxpayers has been plundered to a large extent. This can be said with a high degree of certainty,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. Zelensky's signing of the law tested the unwritten agreement between Ukrainian society and government that there will not be a political uprising during wartime due to the shared understanding that Russia is the enemy, said Volodymyr Ariev, a lawmaker who belongs to the same party as Klympush-Tsintsadze. 'He really miscalculated the reaction of the society,' he said of Zelensky. 'We are fighting against Russia not only as a country but as a model.' The reaction by his fellow lawmakers when the bill was passed was like 'euphoria,' Ariev said — a feeling that deeply shook him. 'They are just talking about European integration but in their activities they are still dreaming of preserving the post-Soviet, pro-Russian model where they have impunity,' he said. 'I don't know whether Zelensky understands how seriously it could harm relations between Ukraine and the United States, and Ukraine and the European Union as well.' On Wednesday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called Zelensky to convey 'her strong concerns about the consequences of the amendments' and 'requested the Ukrainian government for explanations,' a spokesperson for the European Commission said. Advertisement 'The respect for the rule of law and the fight against corruption are core elements of the European Union,' the spokesperson said. 'As a candidate country, Ukraine is expected to uphold these standards fully. There cannot be a compromise.' On Monday, agents from Ukraine's security service (SBU), general prosecutor's office, and State Bureau of Investigation raided NABU offices, claiming the existence of a 'Russian 'mole' in one of the bureau's elite units,' SBU head Vasyl Maliuk said. 'In the conditions of the full-scale war, the presence of Russian agents in any state agency is completely unacceptable,' Maliuk said in a meeting with representatives of the Group of Seven countries in Kyiv on Tuesday, according to the SBU website. Many Ukrainians flatly rejected the government's explanations for the legislation, however. The move against the agencies also comes just a month after NABU opened a criminal case against then-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov on charges of 'abuse of office and receiving undue benefits in substantial amounts for himself and third parties,' it said in a statement at the time. It was one of the highest-level corruption cases since Zelensky became president six years ago, targeting one of the closest allies of his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. Chernyshov denied the charges, but he lost his position in last week's government reshuffle.
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Ukraine: Protests erupt over law eroding independence of two anti-corruption agencies
Slogans, songs, the Ukrainian national anthem – on Tuesday, July 22, at around 8 pm, several thousand people gathered outside the offices of the Ukrainian presidency in Kyiv, despite the martial law in force since 2022. Draped in Ukrainian flags or holding signs, demonstrators protested against the adoption, in the afternoon, of a law by a wide parliamentary majority (263 votes in favor, 13 against and 13 abstentions) that severely weakens the country's anti-corruption framework, painstakingly established after the 2014 Maidan Revolution. This movement followed then president Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to sign an association agreement with the European Union, favoring closer ties with Russia instead. The vote brought a segment of the nation's youth into the streets amid full-scale war – the first such protest since Russia's invasion in February 2022, except for rallies in support of prisoners. "Shame," "Government resign, gang out!" chanted protesters gathered in Kyiv around the garden facing the national theater, just a five-minute walk from the iconic Maidan Square, where the "Revolution of Dignity" took place more than a decade ago. Early Tuesday evening, around 40 former soldiers – enlisted in 2014 (during the annexation of Crimea) or 2022 – gathered at the foot of the presidential palace, many in shorts and with prosthetics. But the vast majority of the crowd was very young: Arrests for recruitment have made those over 25 far more cautious.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Return to the dark days': Protests take aim at Zelensky for first time in the war
The crowd grew on Tuesday evening as the sun set on a hill just above Maidan Nezalezhnosti, a central square in Kyiv where more than a decade ago crowds gathered to protest the corruption of the Kremlin-aligned president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, leading to his ouster. 'It is a very sad moment because for me it means we are going back in time when we had this same discussion,' said Mustafa Nayyem, a former member of parliament who took part in the earlier protests. 'It is very sad and very dangerous.' Amelina said her husband had called her from the front, upset by news of the parliamentary vote, and told her that many other soldiers were also unhappy. Activists and analysts see the legislation as part of a broader crackdown on independent news media, voices critical of the government and government oversight groups, both public and private, threatening hard-won progress towards democracy. One of Ukraine's most prominent anti-corruption activists, and a frequent critic of the Zelensky administration, Vitaliy Shabunin, was accused in a court proceeding last week of evading military service and fraud. He has denied the accusation, which his many domestic and international defenders call baseless, even farcical. If convicted, he could face a decade in prison. There was a widespread view in Ukraine that Zelensky and his administration had grown cloistered, losing touch with the people. 'It's impossible to tolerate what's been happening these past weeks and months – the attacks on civic activists, the attacks on the anti-corruption system,' said Iryna Nemyrovych, 36, the director of the Ukrainian Health Centre, an independent research group. 'We've seen all of this before.' Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, was one of many influential figures calling for protests. 'Time is not on our side,' he said in a message shared widely online. 'We must take to the streets tonight and urge Zelensky to prevent a return to the dark days of Yanukovych. See you this evening!' The demonstrators were largely young and peaceful, and there was little police presence, with only few security personnel at the barricades outside the presidential complex of offices. There were also protests in Lviv and other cities as public anger swelled and word spread of the gatherings. One demonstrator in Kyiv, Sashko Adamliuk, 25, said Ukraine was fighting for more than land. 'Our democracy is under attack,' he said. Like many of those gathered, he feared the government was systematically stifling dissent. Oleksandr Teren, 29, a veteran who lost both his legs in combat, said the actions of the government were an affront to all those who had sacrificed so much in the war.
The Age
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘Return to the dark days': Protests take aim at Zelensky for first time in the war
The crowd grew on Tuesday evening as the sun set on a hill just above Maidan Nezalezhnosti, a central square in Kyiv where more than a decade ago crowds gathered to protest the corruption of the Kremlin-aligned president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, leading to his ouster. 'It is a very sad moment because for me it means we are going back in time when we had this same discussion,' said Mustafa Nayyem, a former member of parliament who took part in the earlier protests. 'It is very sad and very dangerous.' Amelina said her husband had called her from the front, upset by news of the parliamentary vote, and told her that many other soldiers were also unhappy. Activists and analysts see the legislation as part of a broader crackdown on independent news media, voices critical of the government and government oversight groups, both public and private, threatening hard-won progress towards democracy. One of Ukraine's most prominent anti-corruption activists, and a frequent critic of the Zelensky administration, Vitaliy Shabunin, was accused in a court proceeding last week of evading military service and fraud. He has denied the accusation, which his many domestic and international defenders call baseless, even farcical. If convicted, he could face a decade in prison. There was a widespread view in Ukraine that Zelensky and his administration had grown cloistered, losing touch with the people. 'It's impossible to tolerate what's been happening these past weeks and months – the attacks on civic activists, the attacks on the anti-corruption system,' said Iryna Nemyrovych, 36, the director of the Ukrainian Health Centre, an independent research group. 'We've seen all of this before.' Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, was one of many influential figures calling for protests. 'Time is not on our side,' he said in a message shared widely online. 'We must take to the streets tonight and urge Zelensky to prevent a return to the dark days of Yanukovych. See you this evening!' The demonstrators were largely young and peaceful, and there was little police presence, with only few security personnel at the barricades outside the presidential complex of offices. There were also protests in Lviv and other cities as public anger swelled and word spread of the gatherings. One demonstrator in Kyiv, Sashko Adamliuk, 25, said Ukraine was fighting for more than land. 'Our democracy is under attack,' he said. Like many of those gathered, he feared the government was systematically stifling dissent. Oleksandr Teren, 29, a veteran who lost both his legs in combat, said the actions of the government were an affront to all those who had sacrificed so much in the war.
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Ukraine's security service arrests anti-corruption agents over alleged Kremlin ties
KYIV — Ukraine's SBU state security service launched a series of raids on the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of an investigation into allegations that officials within the agency have been cooperating with Russia. The SBU said on Monday that it had arrested two officials working for NABU, one a suspected Russian spy and the other over alleged business ties to Russia. The security service said one of the officials, who was unnamed, allegedly collected and sent the details of Ukrainian law enforcement officers and other citizens to the Kremlin. "At least 60 episodes of transferring restricted information to his contact in the FSB have been documented", the SBU said in a statement. The agent's "subversive activities" were coordinated by Dmitry Ivantsov, deputy head of security for former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the SBU said. The agency said that Ivantsov in February 2014 helped Yanukovych flee to Russia — following the Maidan revolution — but himself "remained in Crimea, joined the ranks of the occupiers, and was recruited by the FSB". Another senior detective, Ruslan Maghamedrasulov, was detained on allegations of helping his father do illegal business involving industrial hemp in Russia, and on suspicion of passing secret information to Russian spies, the SBU said in another statement. A third statement by the security service said that fugitive pro-Russian politician Fedir Khrystenko — who it suspects of working with the FSB from Ukraine — "has significant influence on the activities of the NABU". This would be further investigated, the SBU said. On Monday, NABU said that at least 70 searches had been conducted in relation to more than 15 of its staff members in different regions of Ukraine. "In most cases, the grounds cited for these actions are the alleged involvement of certain individuals in traffic accidents," it said in a statement. "However, some employees are being accused of possible connections with the aggressor state [Russia]." According to NABU, there is no evidence that its employee detained by the SBU was involved in anti-state activities. In a post on Telegram, the agency said it received information concerning a "potential risk" associated with one of its staff members in 2023. After joint checks on the employee were conducted in tandem with the SBU, it was found that they posed no risk. "The risk of agents of influence from the aggressor state [Russia] exists for any government body. However, this cannot justify halting the work of the entire institution," NABU said in a statement, adding that it criticised the use of force against its employees and the raid's execution without a court order. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Ukraine stated that the searches carried out without a legal mandate demonstrated that the authorities were exerting "massive pressure" on Ukraine's anti-corruption agents. The actions of the SBU show that authorities are "attempting to undermine the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions," the watchdog said. "These actions appear to be aimed at forcibly obtaining information and influencing investigations into senior officials," it added. Ambassadors of G7 countries in Kyiv also raised concerns, issuing a statement saying they "met with (representatives of) NABU today, we have serious concerns and we intend to discuss these developments with the leadership of the government". The diplomats reiterated their support for "transparency, independent institutions and good governance" and partnerships with Ukraine "to jointly fight corruption". Separately, Transparency International Ukraine last week raised concern over the arrest of anti-corruption campaigner Vitaliy Shabunin. Shabunin, the co-founder of the NGO Anti-Corruption Action Centre has been charged with fraud and evading military service. The prosecution "has signs of being politically motivated", according to Transparency International Ukraine. In an interview with The Kyiv Independent published on Monday, Shabunin said he believed the authorities were trying to "make an example out of him". — Euronews
