Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has signed a measure that has sparked demonstrations and drawn criticism from across the world because it impairs the independence of the nation’s anti-corruption agencies.
The new law, which places the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) under the prosecutor general’s jurisdiction, is criticized for undermining their power. In a statement on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still “work”, but needed to be purged of “Russian influence”.
Following the passage of the measure, the largest anti-government demonstration since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 took place in Kyiv, with hundreds of participants. One protester brandished a placard that said, “We chose Europe, not autocracy.” “My father did not die for this,” someone another remarked.
Ruslan Kravchenko, a Zelensky supporter and Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, will now have the authority to close corruption investigations and transfer them to possibly more cooperative investigators.
Zelensky said that cases had been “lying dormant” during his speech, casting doubt on the effectiveness of Ukraine’s anti-corruption apparatus. When criminal cases worth billions have been ‘hanging’ for years, there is no logical explanation,” he stated.
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