The move sparked protests in the streets of Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities, as well as criticism from the European Commission and representatives of EU member states. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also demanded an explanation from the president of the country, which has been defending itself from armed aggression by neighboring Russia since 2022.
Zelenskyy now announced in an evening speech that he would submit to parliament a new law that would meet"all standards for the independence of anti-corruption institutions."
Today started with the meeting with government officials and representatives of law enforcement agencies.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) July 23, 2025
Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days – on social media, to each other, on the streets. It's not falling on deaf ears. We analyzed all concerns,… pic.twitter.com/Rcrp2MOXhP
The Ukrainian president admitted that he is aware of the public reaction to his actions, both on social media and in the streets."We have analyzed all the concerns, all the aspects that need to be changed," he said, according to the Ukrainska Pravda website.
The president also stressed that"there will be no Russian influence" in anti-corruption institutions, justifying previous changes, pushed through with the help of the president's party's majority in the Ukrainian parliament. The president's camp claimed that Russian agents were operating inside NABU.
Creation of a special tribunal for crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine
"We all listen to what society says. We see what people expect from state institutions - ensuring justice and the effective functioning of each institution," Zelensky wrote on the X network, where he reported on negotiations with the heads of the SBU secret service, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAZK), the State Investigation Bureau (DBR), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Prosecutor General's Office.
"We all have a common enemy: the Russian occupiers. And the defense of the Ukrainian state requires a sufficiently strong system of law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies one that ensures a real sense of justice," added Zelensky, according to whose statement the participants agreed to cooperate constructively.
The European Union subsequently reminded Kiev that the independence of anti-corruption institutions is one of the main conditions for Ukraine's accession to the EU.
The Ukrainian parliament approved a law a day earlier, which, according to the Ukrainska Pravda server, assumes that NABU and SAP will be subordinate to the Prosecutor General. Until now, these have been independent offices. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko was appointed to the office in June and, according to the Kyiv Independent server, is considered a person loyal to Zelensky. He signed the law on Tuesday.
The vote in parliament came a day after the SBU secret service conducted more than 80 searches at various locations to uncover possible Russian influence in NABU. The agency said before the vote that the law would"effectively destroy the independence" of both the agency and the anti-corruption prosecutor's office. In a joint statement, NABU director Semen Kryvonos and SAP chief Oleksandr Klymenko called on the president to veto the law, according to the Suspilne station.
Today, NABU and SAP issued a joint statement on the Telegram platform, stating that the legislative changes significantly limit their independence and called for the restoration of their autonomy."To restore full-fledged and independent work, clear and unambiguous steps at the level of the law are necessary, which will restore the guarantees abolished by parliament," the statement reads.
The creation of NABU in 2015 was one of the achievements of the pro-European Maidan revolution that toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych a year earlier. Critics see the new law as consolidating power in Zelensky's hands and fear it will allow the government to intervene in major corruption cases. Kiev has taken a tough stance on corruption in recent years, both because of its future accession to the European Union and because of allies who send it military aid, AFP added. According to investigators, corruption in the country remains a serious problem.
Hundreds of Ukrainians protested against the law near the presidential office in central Kiev on Tuesday evening, demanding a presidential veto, and smaller events were also held in several other cities, such as Lviv, Dnipro and Odessa. Similar demonstrations are limited in Ukraine by martial law and a nighttime curfew, Politico recalled. According to Reuters, these were the first such protests since the Russian invasion of the country, while AFP described them as exceptional.
The passage of the law has prompted some of Kiev's European allies to issue their sharpest criticism of Zelensky's government since the Russian invasion, Reuters reported. France said on Monday it was not too late to lift restrictions on the independence of the country's two key anti-corruption agencies. An unnamed Western diplomat familiar with Ukraine's reform efforts, quoted by Reuters, called the development"the most dangerous moment" for the independence of anti-corruption agencies."The Ukrainian side is increasingly testing the limits," he said, hinting at the patience of Kiev's allies.
Ukraine belongs to Europe, its citizens have Czech support, but it has never been and will not be a blank check for any government steps. Czech Foreign Minister Ján Lipavský (German) stated this today on the X network regarding the Ukrainian law on the fight against corruption.
Lipavský also spoke about the matter with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha today."We are monitoring the situation in Ukraine. The fight against corruption is a key part of the path to the EU. Ukraine belongs to Europe and its citizens have our support. But support has never been and will not be a blank check for any steps taken by the government," the minister said.
We are monitoring the situation in Ukraine. The fight against corruption is a key part of the journey to the EU. Ukraine belongs to Europe and its citizens have our support. However, the support has never been and will not be a blank check for any actions taken by the government. That's what I reminded the minister today @andrii_sybiha.
— Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) July 23, 2025
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called on Ukraine to continue its consistent fight against corruption, a day after the Ukrainian parliament approved and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law that would bring the anti-corruption agency NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) under the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor General. Wadephul said the move was an obstacle to Ukraine's path to the European Union.
"Limiting the independence of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Office is an obstacle on Ukraine's path to the European Union. I expect Ukraine to consistently continue the fight against corruption," the foreign minister said on the X network. He also published a photo from his recent visit to Ukraine, during which he met with representatives of NABU and SAP.
Similarly, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that these offices are crucial to the country's reform process."Limiting them would be a significant step backwards," he warned in a post on X.
Ukrainian opposition lawmakers have also called for the law to be repealed. Jaroslav Zheleznak of the Voice (Holos) party said he and several other lawmakers want to come up with a bill that would repeal the existing one, which they also plan to challenge in the Constitutional Court, according to Reuters.
