Ukraine’s parliament has approved a bill restoring the independence of the country’s two main anti-corruption agencies, moving to defuse a crisis that has shaken faith in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership.
Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent after politicians led by his ruling party rushed through amendments last week to remove the body’s powers.
Mr Zelensky changed course after the outcry and under pressure from European officials, who warned the move was jeopardising Ukraine’s bid for European Union membership.
Politicians voted 331 to 0 in favour of the new bill, submitted by the president, that reverses measures that had given his hand-picked general prosecutor the power to transfer cases away from the agencies and reassign prosecutors.
Critics alleged the step had been designed to protect Mr Zelensky’s political allies from prosecution.
Eradicating corruption and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Ukraine to join the EU – a move the country sees as critical to its future as it continues to fight a Russian invasion.
Demonstrations continued after the president submitted the new bill, with hundreds rallying near his office in Kyiv last night shouting: “Shame!” and “The people are the power!”.
Activists also rallied near parliament ahead of today’s vote to pressure politicians and burst into applause after the bill was passed.
Opposition member Yaroslav Yurchyshyn thanked Ukrainians for stopping authorities “one step from the abyss” of autocracy.
Some politicians appeared in parliament with hand-made placards mimicking those carried by protesters.
The bill now goes to President Zelensky for signature.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have stepped up their campaign against corruption since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
They have brought charges against politicians and senior government officials, including a former deputy prime minister who was accused last month of taking a substantial kickback.
Last week, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos said that he expected continued pressure on his agency from corrupt forces uninterested in cleaning up Ukraine.
He said he and other anti-corruption officials felt a greater sense of responsibility following the protests, but called on the country’s leadership to help their effort.
“This responsibility must be shared with the government, which needs to react and say – okay, there’s corruption here – let’s destroy it.”
Russian strikes kill 8 in Kyiv, says ‘key’ town captured
Russian strikes on Kyiv have killed at least eight people, authorities said, as Moscow claimed the capture of a town that had been a key stronghold for the Ukrainian army in the east of the country.
Drones and missile strikes hit at least 27 locations in Kyiv in the early hours, according to officials in the capital.
At least eight people, including a six-year-old boy, were killed and more than 80 were wounded.
“It’s a horrible morning in Kyiv. The brutal Russian strikes destroyed entire residential buildings and damaged schools and hospitals. Civilians are injured and killed. There are still people under the rubble,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media.
Russia’s latest deadly attack on Ukraine came days after US President Donald Trump issued a ten-day ultimatum for Moscow to halt its invasion or face sanctions.
Emergency services at the scene of a Russian drone strike in Kyiv
Moscow said it captured Chasiv Yar, which had been a strategically important military hub for Ukrainian forces in the east.
The town “was liberated by Russian forces”, the defence ministry said in a statement.
If confirmed, the capture of an area that has been the site of battles for months would mark the latest locality to fall to Moscow, whose forces have been making incremental but steady territorial gains for months.
It would pave the way for Russia to advance on remaining civilian strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region, such as the garrison city of Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, important logistical bases for the Ukrainian military and home to many civilians, who have up to now not fled the fighting.
The Ukrainian army has denied Russia’s claim to have captured Chasiv Yar, a spokesperson for a unit fighting in the area said.
“I always advise not to consider the Russian Ministry of Defence as a source of information. They simply lie systematically, and the very approach of having us comment on their latest lies every time is wrong,” said Viktor Tregubov, of the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of Forces.
Russia has made the capture of the Donetsk region its military priority and in late 2022 claimed that the industrial territory was part of its territory.
Residents walk past the ruins of a building in Kyiv
Kyiv has been trying to repel a summer offensive that has made fresh advances into areas largely spared since the start of the invasion.
Today’s attack came after a Russian strike on a military training camp on Tuesday killed at least three Ukrainian soldiers.
Following the strikes, Ukraine’s foreign minister called for the international community to apply utmost pressure on Russia to end the war.
Andriy Sybiga said that while President Trump has been “very generous and very patient with (Vladimir) Putin” in trying to find a solution, the Russian leader “does not care about any attempts to put an end to the killing”.
“He only seeks to destroy and kill. Because the entire existence of this war criminal is based on this senseless war, which he cannot win but refuses to end.
“It’s time to make him feel the pain and consequences of his choices. It’s time to put maximum pressure on Moscow,” Mr Sybiga said.
