8 hours agoZelensky signs Controvers Law, outbreaks major protests in Ukraine since the beginning of the war
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)Ukraine yesterday limited the autonomy of its two anti-corruption agencies, which are central to implementing reforms, in a move Brussels described as a serious “step back” and expressed “deep concern”. Frequent corruption is a condition for Kyevi to join the European Union, as well as providing billions of dollars [...]
Frequent corruption is a condition for Kiev to join the European Union, as well as providing billions of Western aid.
The amendments adopted yesterday give to the Attorney General, named by the president, strict control over Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office ( NIBU and SAPO), some lawmakers said.
The vote sparked fierce criticism from the heads of both agencies and senior European officials and triggered the biggest public protests since the Russian invasion in 2022.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Kiev, Lviv, Dnepro and Odessa last night to challenge the new law. Despite citizens' demands that Voldymyr Zelensky veto the law, the president signed the law last night while the protests were continuing.
Protesters also gathered near the Ivan Franco Theatre in downtown Kiev at 8:00 local times, just a few blocks from the Presidential Palace. The main message was addressed to Zelensky, with the people cheering: “veto the constitution”.
Subtitles “Versus Law”, “Ukraine is not Russia” and the one directed against Andriy Jermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, were so strong that they reached the building where the president's office is.
The vote on the new law took place just a day after Kiev's internal security agency arrested two NABU officials under suspicion of links to Russia and conducted extensive research by agency employees for other reasons. /Periscope.
