The Ukrainian parliament decisively voted on Tuesday, July 22nd, to place two independent anti-corruption agencies under the oversight of the prosecutor general, thereby making them little more than the extended arm of the government which they are supposed to scrutinize.
The “anti-democratic” move is under heavy domestic criticism and immediately sounded the alarms in Brussels, as the EU Commission is “concerned” that it will undermine Ukraine’s commitment to tackle corruption, a key prerequisite for joining the EU.
The new law ends the independence of both the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), integrating both into the office of the prosecutor general, a political appointee of President Zelensky.
“These institutions are crucial to Ukraine’s reform agenda and must operate in an independent way to fight corruption and maintain public trust,” said an EU Commission spokesman on Tuesday afternoon, although falling short of directly threatening to suspend the accession procedure or the EU financial aid earmarked for Ukraine.
“The EU provides significant financial assistance to Ukraine, conditional on progress in transparency, judicial reform, and democratic governance,” he added. “Ukraine’s accession will require a strong capacity to combat corruption and to ensure institutional resilience.”
When initially proposed by Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, the law intended to change the criminal code regarding pretrial investigations during martial law. The parts stripping the independence of anti-corruption watchdogs were introduced later as last-minute amendments, further adding to the controversy around the issue.
The biggest critics of the restructuring are the agencies themselves, who accuse the Zelensky administration of undermining the rule of law and jeopardizing the country’s EU accession. “The anti-corruption infrastructure was just destroyed by our own lawmakers,” said NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. “In fact, this is not only a conflict of interest but also a threat to Ukraine’s EU integration.”
“This decision would effectively stop our integration into the European Union, as an effective fight against corruption was a key conditionality,” added Tetiana Shevchuk, a lawyer at Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center. According to her, the move is politically motivated, as NABU and SAP have begun going after “untouchable” politicians, judges, and officials in the highest circles of the administration lately.
Even the biggest domestic media outlets have started to call out the president’s power grabs, despite being fervently pro-Zelensky just a few months ago. “Last week, we ran an editorial warning of an anti-democratic backslide in Ukraine. Today, it’s happening in plain sight,” said Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent.
As Ukraine’s dissatisfaction with Zelensky’s power grabs under the guise of martial law—coupled with his unwillingness to make a settlement with Russia—grows by the day, certain reports began suggesting that the president’s days may be numbered at the head of the administration.
Just days ago, Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh cited “knowledgeable officials” in Washington who believe a coup is being prepared in Kyiv to replace Zelensky with the pro-peace army general Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander-in-chief who was sacked by the president last year.
“Zelensky is on a short list for exile,” wrote Hersh, adding that Zaluzhnyi could be installed “within a few months,” and the opposition is only waiting for a green light from Trump. The pro-Zaluzhnyi side is even prepared to remove Zelensky “by force” if necessary, seeing it as the only chance to end the war and avoid further escalation and bloodshed.
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Zelensky is a crooked clown installed by the Globalists in Washington, now to be removed by the Nationalist Trump.