Ukraine’s KYIV The first significant demonstrations in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion three and a half years ago have been triggered by a contentious new law that takes away the independence of the country’s leading anti-corruption watchdogs.
Martial law forbade large-scale rallies, but thousands of Ukrainians still flocked to the streets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, shouting “shame” and “Ukraine is not Russia.” According to numerous surveys, Ukrainians are just as worried about corruption in their nation as they are about the war’s conclusion.
29-year-old doctor Polina Tymchenko told NPR, “It’s a complete betrayal of everyone who is on the front line, for everyone who is fighting for our liberty, for everyone who is fighting for Ukraine not being Russia.” “And it’s definitely not an honest move.”
The demonstrations took place in Istanbul right before the third round of ceasefire negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. In past talks, the two parties have not made any forward toward a truce.
The bill was enacted Tuesday by Ukraine’s parliament, which is dominated by the Servant of the People party, which is led by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Later that day, Zelenskyy signed the measure. The law grants the prosecutor general of Ukraine, who was chosen by Zelenskyy, additional authority over the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Zelenskyy defended the decision in his nightly video address on Tuesday, claiming that corruption cases were too time-consuming for the agency to handle. Additionally, he implied that the agencies were compromised. The security agency of Ukraine said Monday that the anti-corruption watchdogs had Russian moles.
“Anti-corruption infrastructure will work without Russian influences,” Zelenskyy stated.
Following the pro-democracy Euromaidan demonstrations in Ukraine, anti-graft agencies were established. In 2014, the movement compelled the country’s infamously corrupt former president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was allied with the Kremlin, to leave.
Former investigative journalist Mustafa Nayyem, who assisted in organizing the demonstrations, later served as head of the Zelenskyy government’s post-war reconstruction agency. He and his colleagues developed transparency measures as part of their work to prevent corruption. He resigned last year, claiming that the work of his agency was being undermined by Zelenskyy’s government.
After taking part in Tuesday’s demonstrations, Nayyem said on Facebook that the bill “won’t help us as a country.” According to him, there is a significant divide between the parliamentarians who supported the measure and the young demonstrators who showed up on Tuesday calling for a transparent and effective democracy.
“This gap is about a completely different understanding of justice, responsibility and state,” he wrote. Some people believe that Ukraine has a bright future. Others view it as an area where you must take advantage of everything you can.
In a post on X, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos called the measure a “step back” for Ukraine’s hopes of joining the EU.
The law was opposed by Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the head of the Ukrainian parliament’s freedom of expression committee. He told NPR at Tuesday night’s demonstration in Kyiv that Zelenskyy appeared disconnected from Ukrainians.
He asserted that the president of a war-torn nation “must feel connected to society.” All of the young people we see are pro-European and do support our democracy.
Meaghan Mobbs, daughter of President Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and president of the R.T. Weatherman Foundation, a foundation that aids Ukraine, wrote on X that the law’s adoption is “truly, unbelievably, mind-bogglingly stupid.” Considering the recent improvements in U.S. policy, it occurs at the worst possible moment. This gives lousy performers a compelling story.
While calling the protests “an internal matter for Ukraine,” the Kremlin, which has frequently described Zelenskyy as an illegitimate ruler, took the opportunity to reiterate talking points that the Zelenskyy government had not used funds that were provided to Ukraine by American taxpayers “for its intended purposes.”
“There is a lot of corruption in the country,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated during his daily news briefing on Wednesday.
From Moscow, Charles Maynes of NPR provided reporting.
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