The anti-corruption bill that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky signed last week has been reversed after a week of protests.
Following criticism from the Ukrainian people and the European Union, the new bill was approved by the Ukrainian parliament in a unanimous vote.
The country’s prosecutor general, a politically appointed position, now has authority over two anti-corruption watchdogs thanks to a law passed last week.
Proponents claimed that expediting corruption cases and preventing Russian influence in the anti-corruption system were essential.
However, detractors claimed it took away the organizations’ autonomy, including that of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
The new law reversed last week’s law.
Many sitting members of parliament are being investigated.
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The agency has charged 71 current and former MPs with corruption. Forty-two of them were charged between 2022 and 2025. Still in parliament are 31 of the charged MPs.
Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center approved of Zelensky’s initiative, saying it would “restore the principles previously dismantled by the Verkhovna Rada [parliament].”
The European Union warned Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, that it saw last week’s law as backsliding in the country’s efforts to combat corruption and could jeopardize its plans to join its ranks.
Former Prime Minister and current MP Yulia Tymoshenko defended last week’s bill.
“This bill, the president submitted under colossal pressure, is not about NABU and SAP, and not about the fight against corruption.
NABU and SAP are organs of political pressure on Ukraine’s government from outside.
Last week, Zelensky quickly signed the disputed bill, claiming NABU and SAP were not effective enough and were filled with Russian agents.
The organisations were investigating corruption allegations against some of his closest allies.
