Zelensky Slashes Independence of Top Anti-Corruption Bodies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Bill No. 12414  that slashes the independence of the nation’s top anti-corruption bodies. The bill was rushed through the Parliament.

Hundreds of angry protesters, mostly youth, have taken to the streets in Kyiv.

It allows the Prosecutor General’s Office to seize control of high-profile corruption investigations from the country’s fiercely independent watchdogs – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered near the Ivan Franko Theatre in the heart of the capital, just steps from the presidential compound.

“They are crying that they do not want to return to the times of [former President Viktor] Yanukovych’ Kyiv Post reporter Sergii Kostezh said.

“They do not want to return to the times of pro-Russian governance in Ukraine.”

President Zelensky signed the bill immediately and without hesitation. The protests mean nothing. This is the leadership saving democracy in the West.

The Reason Given

Zelensky said they were ridding the infrastructure of Russian influence. He claimed Russians are still getting information from the agencies.

“The anti-corruption infrastructure will work. Only without Russian influence, it needs to be cleared of that. And there should be more justice,” he said on X.

They now plan to pursue cases against people who fled Ukraine and are living abroad.

I spoke with NABU Director Semen Kryvonos, SAPO Prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk. We discussed various challenges.

The anti-corruption infrastructure will work. Only without Russian… pic.twitter.com/GQwlIrzNmk

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 22, 2025