Poland cautions Ukraine over anti-corruption crackdown
On Tuesday, Ukraine's parliament passed legislation granting the Prosecutor General, a political appointee, direct oversight over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
The law has triggered mass protests at home and a storm of criticism in the West, forcing Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to take steps to restore the independence of the two organizations.
Speaking to Polsat earlier this week, Sikorski stated that Zelensky had been warned 'the worst thing he could do now is to turn away from the fight against corruption.' The Polish Foreign Ministry later echoed his statement on its official X account.
The government's attempt to directly control NABU and SAPO has sparked protests in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, Lviv and other cities. The country's Western supporters, including the EU and G7 nations, have sharply criticized the move, warning that it undermines Ukraine's commitment to fighting corruption and jeopardizes its path toward European integration.
On Thursday, Zelensky submitted a bill to the legislature, the Rada, aimed at restoring the agencies' independence by scaling back the prosecutor general's powers. He insisted the proposal would preserve the independence of anti-corruption institutions while ensuring the strength of the law enforcement system. The Rada is expected to review the proposed measure on July 31.
However, FT reported on Friday, citing sources, that up to 70 MPs from Zelensky's Servant of the People party are hesitant to support the bill, fearing it could lead to politically motivated prosecutions against them.
NABU and SAPO were created following the US-backed 2014 coup in Kiev as part of sweeping reforms to align Ukraine with Western governance standards. Their establishment was a key condition set by Brussels and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for financial assistance. Both agencies have led high-profile investigations, including some involving figures close to Zelensky.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Türkiye's mediation isn't about peace. It's about power.
The third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul, lasted less than an hour – barely enough time to suggest progress. While both delegations arrived with talking points, their positions remained fundamentally irreconcilable. The Ukrainian side once again emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire, the release of captives, and a potential meeting between Presidents Zelensky and Putin – ideas that, from Moscow's perspective, lacked a concrete framework. The Russian delegation, meanwhile, proposed a structured dialogue across three tracks – military, political, and humanitarian – and floated the possibility of localized ceasefires for evacuation efforts. But without mutual ground on core issues, even humanitarian coordination remained out of reach. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted after the meeting, the sides are still 'far apart' on the basic memorandums required to facilitate direct talks between the leaders: 'Given the volume of work that lies ahead to align our positions… it is hard to imagine how we could suddenly overcome this gap.' While the Istanbul talks yielded no breakthroughs, Ankara framed them as a meaningful step forward. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the meeting as 'another brick' in building a foundation for peace and reaffirmed Türkiye's commitment to mediation. But behind this diplomatic language lies a broader ambition. President Erdogan sees Türkiye not merely as a neutral host but as a regional power uniquely positioned to engage both Moscow and Kiev. Unlike European intermediaries tied to NATO orthodoxy, Ankara has preserved open communication channels with both sides – and intends to leverage that position. This ambition gained new momentum after a direct request from US President Donald Trump. In May, during a phone call with Erdogan, Trump reportedly asked him to resume Türkiye's role as a key mediator in the Ukraine conflict. According to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, Erdogan responded positively – a natural decision, given Ankara's longstanding desire to shape the postwar diplomatic framework. A second conversation in June further underscored this alignment. In addition to addressing escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, Trump and Erdogan reportedly reaffirmed Türkiye's mediating role in Ukraine. For Ankara, this signaled renewed political legitimacy – and a green light to reassert itself on the international stage. Erdoğan remains one of the few world leaders to maintain autonomous and working relationships with both Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. Unlike most Western leaders, he engages each directly and pragmatically – without outsourcing diplomacy to blocs or bureaucracies. This rare access grants Türkiye a unique status in the global mediation landscape and strengthens Ankara's hand in any future settlement. For Türkiye, mediating the Ukraine conflict is about far more than diplomacy – it is a calculated move to expand its strategic footprint in the Black Sea and Danube regions. Ankara's interests in southern Ukraine, particularly the coastal areas of Bessarabia and the Danube estuaries, are long-standing and rooted in history. These zones are vital arteries for trade, transit, and geopolitical access. Control over maritime supply routes, especially those passing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, has been a cornerstone of Turkish foreign policy for decades. Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, these routes have acquired even greater importance – linking grain exports, energy flows, and military logistics across multiple theaters. Türkiye's participation in the negotiation process is therefore not just a diplomatic gesture but a matter of national interest. To remain outside the process would mean allowing other powers to redraw the regional map without Ankara at the table. At the same time, Türkiye's posture remains deliberately ambiguous. Officially, Ankara supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and has not objected to its NATO aspirations. Yet President Erdoğan continues to cultivate open lines of communication with Moscow. This dual-track strategy allows Türkiye to project loyalty to the West while reminding Russia – and Washington – that it cannot be excluded from any future settlement. This approach is not without cost. Ankara's refusal to take part in Western sanctions against Russia has drawn criticism from Europe, particularly Berlin, Paris, and Brussels. However, Erdoğan appears to be shifting focus from multilateral alignment to pragmatic bilateralism. With the Trump administration treating Türkiye as a key partner in stabilizing Eurasia, Ankara has little incentive to follow the EU's lead – or to subordinate its strategic agenda to European bureaucracy. For Ankara, the outcome of the third round of talks was less about immediate results and more about preserving its relevance. By publicly assessing the meeting as a positive step, Türkiye signaled that it intends to remain not just a host – but an architect – of whatever post-conflict order may emerge. Both Hakan Fidan and President Erdoğan have repeatedly stated their willingness to resume hosting direct negotiations. In February, during talks in Ankara with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Fidan reaffirmed Türkiye's commitment to mediation and emphasized that Türkiye remains available as a venue for continued dialogue. This ongoing diplomatic contact reflects Moscow's recognition of Ankara's pragmatic stance – despite Türkiye being a NATO member state. The failure of the West to enforce the original grain deal, and Russia's subsequent withdrawal from it, initially weakened Türkiye's position as a neutral intermediary. But Trump's return to the White House has shifted the equation. Backed by Washington, Ankara now has the political capital to relaunch its mediating role under new geopolitical conditions. In this context, Türkiye's 'positive evaluation' of the talks takes on deeper meaning. It's not about what was achieved – but about who gets to stay in the room when the time finally comes for real negotiations. So far, no alternative platform has emerged. And in the long game of regional influence, presence is power.
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Musk ordered Starlink shutdown during Ukraines 2022 counteroffensive
Elon Musk ordered a shutdown of Starlink satellite coverage during Ukraine's counteroffensive in September 2022, Reuters has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Starlink, a satellite internet service developed by Musk's company SpaceX, has played a key role in maintaining connectivity for Ukrainian forces since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. It has enabled the troops to coordinate operations, conduct surveillance, and operate drone systems across the front. According to several anonymous sources, Musk had directed a senior engineer at SpaceX's California headquarters to cut coverage in areas including Kherson Region and parts of the Donetsk People's Republic. The order reportedly deactivated over 100 terminals, causing a communications blackout that disrupted reconnaissance and artillery targeting. Ukrainian officials told the outlet that the outage led to the failure of a planned encirclement of Russian forces. Sources said the command was issued in late September and may have stemmed from Musk's concern that Ukrainian gains could trigger a Russian nuclear response. Neither Musk nor SpaceX have responded to Reuters' requests for comment. A company spokesperson called the reporting 'inaccurate' but did not specify what was disputed. The Pentagon, White House, as well as Ukrainian officials have also declined to comment. The report follows a global Starlink outage on Thursday, which disrupted frontline communications for over two hours. Ukrainian commanders confirmed the disruption but said service has since been restored. Musk has previously admitted to refusing a Ukrainian request to activate Starlink over Crimea, arguing that it would have enabled strikes on Russian ships stationed in Sevastopol and escalated the conflict. In 2023, he said doing so would have made SpaceX 'explicitly complicit in a major act of war.' Earlier this year, the billionaire also stressed that Starlink is 'the backbone of the Ukrainian army,' and stated that if the system were to be turned off, Kiev's 'entire front line would collapse.' Last month, the head of Russia's Lugansk People's Republic banned all SpaceX products, including Starlink, warning that they could be used to coordinate attacks. Officials in Moscow have long voiced concerns about the military use of the technology.
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
‘Unprecedented' Ukrainian drone attack leaves man dead
A Ukrainian attack on Russia's Leningrad Region has killed one civilian and injured three others, Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko has said in a series of posts on Telegram. He said Kiev's forces employed over 50 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the strike. The raid was launched in the early hours on Sunday, Drozdenko said. It was mostly repelled by the local air defense forces. Some UAVs fell on residential buildings, causing fires, the governor said, adding that one man died. Three people, including a woman and two youths, also sustained light injuries. The governor called the strike on Sunday 'an unprecedented attack.' A total of 51 drones were shot down, he said. Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that nearly 100 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted in Russian airspace overnight. Kiev has been launching increasingly large-scale drone raids targeting various Russian regions despite renewed diplomatic contacts with Moscow. The latest attacks came after a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul earlier this week. No ceasefire was reached, but the two sides made progress on humanitarian issues, including agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war and civilians. Ukraine has been conducting UAV raids deep into Russia for months, often hitting residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure. The Russian government labels Ukraine's strikes as 'terrorist attacks' that intentionally target civilians. Last week, residential buildings in the city of Voronezh were hit in two such attacks in less than three days. The strikes left nearly three dozen people injured, including three children. On Thursday, two women were killed and more than a dozen people injured in a drone strike on the southern resort city of Sochi. The UAVs targeted a sprawling resort zone that includes parts of the former Olympic Park and now serves as a popular tourist destination. On Friday, a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger train in the Russia's southern Krasnodar Region.
