KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been taking potshots from Russian President Vladimir Putin for years, came under friendly fire this week as thousands of protesters took to the streets to oppose a sweeping anti-corruption law.
Mr. Zelenskyy, who defended the law as a necessary tool to root out Russian interference in Ukraine, said after a meeting of his top security advisers Wednesday that government agencies had agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness.
“We all hear what society says,” Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, but he said the law is necessary to crack down on corruption.
To those who turned out to protest Tuesday night, the new law looks like a power grab.
“I was afraid to come. I thought I’d be one of 30 people. But when I saw how many showed up, I felt safe. I wasn’t alone,” said Ihor, 30, who asked that his last name not be used. He was part of the largest protest in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Carrying signs that read “Shame” and “Veto the bill,” the protesters said the legislation would strip Ukraine’s main anti-corruption bodies of independence.
Adopted Tuesday by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, Law No. 12414 introduces significant amendments to Ukraine’s criminal procedure code. It subordinates the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to the authority of the prosecutor general, a position appointed directly by the president.
The law effectively grants the prosecutor’s office power to withdraw and reassign ongoing investigations to other law enforcement bodies, override or limit the independence of prosecutors, direct NABU investigators through written instructions and close or block high-level corruption cases.
Elena Davlikanova, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the law contradicted Ukraine’s declared anti-corruption policy.
“I remember when NABU and SAPO were created. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt like we were finally moving in the right direction, toward Europe and democracy,” Ihor said. “This law is a symbol that we’re no longer heading that way. It’s painful. People died for this path, and now we’re going backward.”
The law encountered little pushback in parliament with 263 deputies voting for its adoption and only 13 against.
People’s Deputy Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a former vice prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, was among the dissenters.
“It’s a very shortsighted decision by the president and his team. The fact that the law was signed so quickly shows it was orchestrated from within the presidential office,” she said.
Despite growing public outrage, Mr. Zelenskyy signed the bill into law within hours after the parliament approved it.
On Tuesday night, Ukraine’s wartime leader took to Telegram to reassure the public.
“The anti-corruption infrastructure will work. Only without Russian influence. All of this must be purged,” he declared in a video address.
A “convenient but totally absurd” pretext, said Ms. Klympush-Tsintsadze. “If there are Russian agents in institutions such as NABU, then they must be dealt with through the courts. This in no way justifies depriving these institutions of their procedural independence.”
The law appears to be part of a broader crackdown on independent watchdogs and civil society. It was adopted on the heels of a criminal case targeting Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center and one of the country’s most prominent anti-corruption activists.
In late June, Mr. Shabunin was formally charged with evading military service. Ukraine’s Security Service said he used forged documents to avoid mobilization. Mr. Shabunin and his legal team strongly deny the claim.
Ukrainian and Western analysts have said the law could harm the country’s prospect of further European integration. “This is a direct threat to our European integration; it is a rollback of everything we’ve achieved in terms of transparency and accountability,” said Ms. Klympush-Tsintsadze.
Mr. Zelenskyy’s critics outside Ukraine have rushed to exploit the developments.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, shared a video of the protests and called the Ukrainian president a dictator. “America must STOP funding and sending weapons!!!” she said on social media.
Later Wednesday, the heads of the delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, as reported by Turkey’s HaberTurk television. It was not immediately clear whether this marked the start of the formal direct talks. Expectations for a breakthrough when the delegations met were low.
Russian officials relished Mr. Zelenskyy’s difficulties, but Moscow has its own series of corruption cases against government and military officials.
Mr. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul “will again insist on the need for an immediate and complete ceasefire, including … strikes on civilian infrastructure.”
Earlier this month, President Trump threatened Russia with severe economic sanctions and said more American weapons, paid for by European countries, would go to Ukraine. Mr. Trump hardened his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration with Mr. Putin about unsuccessful talks for a ceasefire.
Mr. Trump gave Russia until early September to agree to a ceasefire.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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