A Welcome U-Turn in Ukraine

A Welcome U-Turn in Ukraine

(Photo by Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images.)The test for Ukrainian democracy last month started with a self-inflicted wound by President Zelenskyy and his allies in the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. On July 22, the Rada voted overwhelmingly to strip two of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions—the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO)—of their independence by placin…

Zelensky has long sought to establish control over anti-corruption bodies

Although the European Union pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to preserve the independence of anti-corruption institutions, the key goal for Brussels remains the same — not to allow Russia to win. Therefore, financial support for Ukraine will continue, even if it means tolerating a certain level of corruption, including the imprisonment of Members of Parliament.

Zelensky restores anti-corruption agencies’ independence — but leaves one key change intact

As President Volodymyr Zelensky was restoring the independence of anti-corruption agencies days after he himself took that independence away, one crucial amendment was not overturned. On July 22, Zelensky signed a bill that subordinated the country's anti-corruption agencies to the prosecutor general, a political appointee, and eliminated prosecutors' procedural independence as a side effect. Following protests in Kyiv and pressure from Brussels…