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Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy to visit Germany – DW – 05/28/2025

Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy to visit Germany – DW – 05/28/2025

DW28-05-2025
05/28/2025
May 28, 2025 Ukraine launches some 300 drones at Russia — Moscow
Ukraine launched almost 300 drones in one of the largest attempted attacks atRussia, including dozens targeting the capital Moscow, Russian authorities said.
"Anti-aircraft defense systems destroyed and intercepted 296 aerial drones," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement, with at least 42 being shot down over the Moscow region, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyov.
This comes after Moscow's record drone attack on the country over the weekend, which Kyiv said killed at least 13 people.
Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones in the three days up to Monday.
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'A Free Ukraine': Kyiv Protests Law Threatening Anti-corruption Bodies
'A Free Ukraine': Kyiv Protests Law Threatening Anti-corruption Bodies

Int'l Business Times

time8 hours ago

  • Int'l Business Times

'A Free Ukraine': Kyiv Protests Law Threatening Anti-corruption Bodies

At a rare protest in central Kyiv demonstrators rallied Wednesday against a law that curbs the power of anti-corruption agencies, warning the fight for Ukraine's democracy was taking place both on the battlefield and at home. The legislation, removing the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, sparked the first major protests in Ukraine since it began fighting off the Russian invasion over three years ago. "Our struggle takes place on two fronts. Our main enemy is external, but we have an internal battle too," said protester Viacheslav Bykov. "We don't want Ukraine to be part of Russia, we don't want a corrupt or authoritarian Ukraine. We want a free Ukraine," he added. Several thousand demonstrators -- mostly young -- gathered outside a theatre in Kyiv, calling for a veto to the law passed by Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday. The law places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Critics say the legislation would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes and threatens the independence of key institutions in Ukraine. Zelensky responded to the backlash on Wednesday evening, saying he would submit a new bill ensuring "all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place". Kyiv's partners had reacted with alarm, including European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, who the EU said demanded explanations from Zelensky over the change. Civil society groups warn the bill is part of a broader pattern of pressure on anti-corruption activists and bodies. Some European allies worry the moves will undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union -- a fear shared by many protesting on Wednesday. "We've worked for years to move closer to Europe... only to be thrown back 10 years in a single day," said protester Anya Kutsevol. Ukraine's two anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, were born a decade ago in the wake of the 2014 Maidan revolution. Those pro-European protests, centred on Kyiv's main square, also called Maidan, ousted a Kremlin-backed leader who scrapped a key partnership agreement with the EU. The Kremlin, which refused to accept Ukraine's democratic turn toward Europe, then launched a first assault over Ukraine that led Moscow-backed separatists to occupy Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region. "Ukraine is Europe," Kutsevol said, "we won't be returned to Russia. We'll keep fighting for Europe." Some fear that a political crisis over the legislation could work in Russia's favour by undermining unity within the country, which is struggling to hold the front. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seized on the opportunity to say there was "a lot of corruption" in Ukraine. "If I were Russia, I would do the same," said another protester, Yevgen Popovychenko, convinced Moscow would try to exploit the protests. He was holding a banner that read: "Don't take me back" to the years of Maidan, where he took to the streets as a 21-year-old. As he stood in the crowd, he said he was having flashbacks from Maidan, a feeling shared by his friends. But many other protestors were only children during the famed 2014 demonstrations -- including 25-year-old Kutsevol. "When tyres were still burning, I was 14. What good was I?" she said. Wednesday's was her first political protest, and she teared up looking at people gathered around her for the second day in a row, despite martial law banning large gatherings. She vowed to keep defending Ukraine's democracy. "We're adults now. Now it's our turn." Critics say the law threatens the independence of key institutions AFP A protester says 'Ukraine is not Mordor', likening Moscow to the fictional dark realm AFP The pro-European Maidan protests took place a decade ago AFP

Ukraine: New law curtails anti-corruption bodies' powers – DW – 07/23/2025
Ukraine: New law curtails anti-corruption bodies' powers – DW – 07/23/2025

DW

time9 hours ago

  • DW

Ukraine: New law curtails anti-corruption bodies' powers – DW – 07/23/2025

A controversial law gives Ukraine's prosecutor general control over the country's once independent anti-corruption authorities. The move has drawn fierce criticism and sparked nationwide protests. On July 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law restricting the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) mere hours after it had been passed by Ukrainian parliament. The move sparked protests in several cities across Ukraine. Thousands of people took to the streets of Kyiv, with demonstrators criticizing what they saw as a "return" to the era of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was forced to flee to Russia during the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014. The new law stipulates that the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president with approval of parliament, will have access to all NABU cases and can also grant other prosecutors access. The prosecutor general can issue instructions to NABU investigators, change the focus of trials, discontinue proceedings at the request of the defense and much more. The new law also significantly restricts SAPO's procedural autonomy. "The independence of both institutions — whether from political influence and pressure on future and ongoing investigations — has been effectively destroyed," SAPO prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko told DW. "NABU and SAPO were created as bodies equipped with exclusive investigative powers to fight corruption at the highest levels, with full guarantees of their independence," added NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. "This is a prerequisite for our [Ukrainian] progress toward Europe." NABU and SAPO offices were searched just one day before Ukraine's controversial law was passed. Prosecutors of both agencies are suspected of maintaining ties to Russia. Some Ukrainian lawmakers have therefore welcomed the new law, including former prime minister and Fatherland party leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who accuses both bodies of being selective in whom they investigate over corruption. "You can't call this an anti-corruption structure, but rather a shadow government that controls all processes," she said. President Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities would continue working though "free from Russian influence." He also said that "suspected corruption cases must be investigated; for years, some officials who fled Ukraine have been living abroad without facing legal consequences." Zelenskyy said there was no rational explanation why some of the billion-dollar corruption cases have been stalled for years and complained that Russia had previously gained access to sensitive information. The new law drew criticism across party lines, with even members of Zelenskyy's own ruling Servant of the People party expressing disapproval. Ahead of the vote, Anastasia Radina, who chairs the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, warned the law would have "catastrophic" consequences for the Ukrainian state. The opposition European Solidarity parliamentary group said Ukraine's anti-corruption system was one of the greatest accomplishments to result from the Maidan revolution, and that those who voted for the law were destroying the Ukrainian state at a very dangerous moment. "The country is reverting back to a state that the Russians were once pleased with, when there was a lack of rights and democracy," warned opposition MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, who chairs Ukraine's EU Integration Committee. "Sooner or later, such countries fall into the Kremlin's sphere of influence." Klympush-Tsintsadze also said the law threatens European and other international financial aid, which is linked to Ukraine's commitments to fight corruption. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called the new law a "serious step back" on X. She said "independent bodies like NABU & SAPO, are crucial for Ukraine's EU path. Rule of law remains at the very center of EU accession negotiations." On Facebook, investment banker and financial expert Serhiy Fursa pointed out that many people accuse NABU and SAPO of inefficiency, through stressed that these bodies are "far more effective than assumed." He said there had to be "great fear, which means that NABU is doing a very good job" if decision-makers are prepared to risk European integration and the Western support just to limit the body's powers. On July 23, in light of the backlash, Zelenskyy convened a meeting with all the heads of Ukrainian law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, as well as Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. "We are all hearing what the public is saying," Zelensky told them. "We see what people are expecting from state institutions to ensure all institutions operate according to the principle of justice and efficiency." Zelenskyy announced that a joint action plan to resolve the dispute would be developed within the next two weeks.

White House Demands Reporters' Pulitzer Prizes Be Stripped for 'Perpetuating a Hoax'
White House Demands Reporters' Pulitzer Prizes Be Stripped for 'Perpetuating a Hoax'

Int'l Business Times

time10 hours ago

  • Int'l Business Times

White House Demands Reporters' Pulitzer Prizes Be Stripped for 'Perpetuating a Hoax'

The White House demanded that journalists who won Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election have their awards stripped for "perpetuating a hoax." Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt bashed reporters during a White House press briefing Wednesday following a release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence claiming to have uncovered "overwhelming evidence" that the reports were "manufactured" by former President Barack Obama. "This is truly one of the greatest political scandals in American history, and reporters at legacy outlets, some of which are sitting in this room today like the New York Times and the Washington Post were ridiculously awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their perpetuation of this hoax. It is well past time for those awards to be stripped from the journalists who received them," she said. The Washington Post and the New York Times both won a Pulitzer for National Reporting in 2018 for their coverage of the interference. Despite reports and conclusions from American intelligence and Department of Justice officials, President Donald Trump has continued to claim there was no interference. He previously requested that the Pulitzer Board take back the awards, but his appeal was denied, the New York Times reported in 2022. "It is not journalism to propagate political disinformation in service of the Democrat Party and those in the intelligence community who hand over out of context and fake intelligence to push a false political narrative," Leavitt continued. While Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's office claimed the Obama administration laid the groundwork for "a years-long coup against President Trump," the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation was actually led by Republicans. The 2020 report agreed with the results of a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a campaign to spread disinformation to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign. Obama's office said in a statement that although it "does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House ... these claims are outrageous enough to merit one," before calling the Trump administration's release "ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." The Trump administration has been under intense fire recently over the handling of the files on Jeffrey Epstein, following a report by the DOJ and FBI declaring that he had killed himself and had no client list. However, Trump called for "Grand Jury testimony" to be procured and released with a judge's approval after the Wall Street Journal reported that the president previously sent Epstein a drawing of a naked woman in a birthday message. Trump has denied the article's claims. Gabbard defended her office's release, stating on Newsmax Tuesday night, "We will be releasing further documents tomorrow that will refute that statement." Originally published on Latin Times

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