Zelenskiy signs anti-corruption law amid protests
The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war, convened the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies in a response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by parliament.
"We all hear what society says," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption.
"Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment," the Ukrainian leader said.
He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness.
A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said.
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion.
"Limiting the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine's way towards the EU," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned in a post on X
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: "In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons - difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership."
The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners.
It accused authorities of "dismantling" Ukraine's anti-corruption architecture.
Zelenskiy said the new law clears out "Russian influence" from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were years-long delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.
"The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated," Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post.
"For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason - in very nice countries and without legal consequences - and this is not normal."
He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.
Ukrainian activists have called for further protests against a law they say weakens anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major demonstration against the country's government in more than three years of war.
The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war, convened the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies in a response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by parliament.
"We all hear what society says," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption.
"Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment," the Ukrainian leader said.
He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness.
A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said.
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion.
"Limiting the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine's way towards the EU," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned in a post on X
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: "In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons - difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership."
The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners.
It accused authorities of "dismantling" Ukraine's anti-corruption architecture.
Zelenskiy said the new law clears out "Russian influence" from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were years-long delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.
"The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated," Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post.
"For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason - in very nice countries and without legal consequences - and this is not normal."
He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.
Ukrainian activists have called for further protests against a law they say weakens anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major demonstration against the country's government in more than three years of war.
The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war, convened the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies in a response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by parliament.
"We all hear what society says," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption.
"Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment," the Ukrainian leader said.
He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness.
A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said.
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion.
"Limiting the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine's way towards the EU," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned in a post on X
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: "In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons - difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership."
The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners.
It accused authorities of "dismantling" Ukraine's anti-corruption architecture.
Zelenskiy said the new law clears out "Russian influence" from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were years-long delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.
"The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated," Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post.
"For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason - in very nice countries and without legal consequences - and this is not normal."
He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.
Ukrainian activists have called for further protests against a law they say weakens anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major demonstration against the country's government in more than three years of war.
The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war, convened the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies in a response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by parliament.
"We all hear what society says," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption.
"Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment," the Ukrainian leader said.
He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness.
A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said.
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations.
Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion.
"Limiting the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine's way towards the EU," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned in a post on X
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: "In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons - difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership."
The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners.
It accused authorities of "dismantling" Ukraine's anti-corruption architecture.
Zelenskiy said the new law clears out "Russian influence" from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were years-long delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.
"The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated," Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post.
"For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason - in very nice countries and without legal consequences - and this is not normal."
He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘You've got a two-tier system': Nigel Farage reacts to Harbour Bridge demonstrations
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage discusses the 'two-tier system' taking place in Australia and other Western nations regarding the rise of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Police estimated 90,000 demonstrators took part in the 'March for Humanity' through the heart of Sydney, which shut down the Harbour Bridge from 11.30am to about 5pm, although it was originally scheduled to end at 4pm. 'What you are seeing in Australia, as we are seeing in London, is the effective surrender to the pro-Palestinian mob,' Mr Farage told Sky News host Paul Murray. 'They are scoring victories across the Western world because governments, police forces, the authorities are frankly now just too scared to stand up to them.'
Sky News AU
6 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Investigation launched into Obama officials over Russia 2016 election collusion hoax
Sky News host Andrew Bolt discusses the US grand jury investigation being launched into officials of former United States president Barack Obama to find out the 'conspiracy theory' of Russian collusion in the 2016 election. 'We might finally now get to the truth about what our ABC once boasted was the story of the century … but it a truth very different to what the ABC and journalists around the world were claiming, they told us Donald Trump stole the first election that made him president by colluding with Russia,' Mr Bolt said. 'The overwhelming evidence since is that Trump never did collude with Russia, those discredited claims were largely based on a dossier of fake intelligence secretly funded by the campaign of Trump's Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton.'
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Russia's dad-dancing chief blowhard makes Putin look reasonable
In agreeing to step down – and sacrifice any ambition he had to run for a second term as president – Medvedev deepened Putin's loyalty towards him. In exchange, he was given the position of prime minister, which he held until the president felt the debt repaid and dismissed him in 2020. The previous years had not been altogether kind. From having been a key player on the world stage, Medvedev's role was 'to draw public anger at him', Mironenko says, leaving Putin to announce all the good news while he mopped up the bad. Alexei Navalny's organisation exposed his mysteriously obtained empire of luxury properties, including the use of a castle outside Moscow. Critics gleefully posted the video of his awkward, strutting dance to American Boy at a university reunion. All the while, the self-professed Pink Floyd fan was being roundly humiliated by Putin's propaganda machine, something that cannot but have left a profound psychological impact. Rumours of heavy drinking started around this time and linger to this day. 'The rules have changed' That Medvedev needed to find a new role would have been clear to the St Petersburg native, who followed Putin into politics in 1999, serving as a fresh-faced balance to a clan of ex-KGB agents and other security state types. 'I think he realised better than anyone else how the rules have changed and the system changed' in February 2022, says Farida Rustamova, an exiled Russian journalist whose newsletter has become a key chronicle of the Russian elite. The state would now go all-in on war. Any lingering traces of liberalism would need to be publicly – and repeatedly – expunged. 'The Russian security forces saw him as the sort of informal leader of any liberals who remained in the Russian system,' Rustamova says. 'That's the key to his transformation.' There was added motivation from the fact that key members of Medvedev's inner circle had already been arrested, including his former deputy, Mikhail Abyzov, and the billionaire Magomedov brothers, who were alleged to have stolen from state funds meant for the 2018 World Cup. What has surprised Western leaders with whom he once rubbed shoulders is the foul-mouthed virulence with which Medvedev has taken to calling them names and threatening to blow up their capitals. In a theatrical style not unlike Trump's, the former president has rounded on Western leaders as 'half-witted old women', 'infantile morons,' 'pompous Anglo-Saxon imbeciles,' and, in the case of Joe Biden, 'a strange grandfather with dementia'. Before his latest battle with the US president, he had threatened nuclear strikes on London, Paris, Washington and, on multiple occasions, Ukraine. Medvedev is not totally on political skid row, Rustamova points out. The position Putin created for him after his dismissal as prime minister – deputy chairman of the National Security Council – now allows him to hear the unfiltered views of the president at weekly meetings. His intemperate posts on social media, she argues, are likely 'an old Kremlin trick', whereby an outrider is pushed to say outrageous things in public in order for Putin to present himself, in private, as a moderate, reasonable negotiator. 'Putin could say in his conversations with Trump, 'look what people around me want me to do, and I'm not doing that.'' Putin's response to Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire – which was shortened to expire this week – has been muted. In this round of negotiations, it has been left to Medvedev to remind Trump of Russia's 'Dead Hand', the semi-automated nuclear launch system, as he did on July 31. At the very least, the fact that Putin has not restrained his one-time protege suggests he sees some purpose in his ranting, says Mironenko.
