KYIV — Protests grew across Ukraine on Tuesday night as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a law that scuttled the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in cities including Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa, in the largest protests to hit the country since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“This is fucking outrageous. War has brought so many tragedies to us, but it was also a signal that our country is fighting for better. We can’t let it backslide. We want no corruption and we want honest government. And I want to live in Ukraine,” Anastasia, a 21-year-old biology student who asked only to be identified by her first name, told POLITICO.
Any kind of protest in Ukraine is curtailed under martial law — and limited by the curfew imposed at night. But hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, war veterans and soldiers, as well as corruption watchdogs, came to central Kyiv and chanted: “Veto! Veto! Veto!” in the direction of Zelenskyy’s office.
The president’s signature was the final action needed to make the bill law, and give the office of the politically appointed prosecutor general power over the independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
“Any kind of limitations imposed on anti-corruption institutions [are] unacceptable and [are] harmful for their work and independence,” said Stephan, a 23-year-old law student who also requested to be identified by his first name only.
“This protest is a demonstration of our intolerance to corruption and backsliding, even during martial law. We could not not come. There’s no other way,” Stephan added.
Like many other protesters, he had not slept normally for more than a week due to the relentless Russian shelling.
The European Commission said Tuesday that it was “seriously concerned” by the vote in the Ukrainian parliament, illustrating the depth of unease in Brussels where criticism of Kyiv is vanishingly rare.
Meaghan Mobbs, the daughter of U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, called the lawmakers’ decision “mind-bogglingly stupid” and a gift to critics of further military aid to Ukraine as it resists Russia’s aggression.
Oleksandr Teren, a 29-year-old former Ukrainian serviceman who lost both legs fighting the Russian army, also came to the protest in Kyiv.
“This is a malicious law that should not be adopted during wartime. Strangely, lawmakers adopted it even though people are against it,” Teren said.
“It is so hard for servicemen to find motivation to keep fighting Russian advances. We’re losing kilometers of land. And these kinds of decisions demotivate us. Hard to fight for people who adopt such laws,” the war veteran added.
The law was originally proposed by several lawmakers from Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, with the aim of changing Ukraine’s criminal code regarding pretrial investigations while martial law is in effect. But last-minute amendments targeting the corruption watchdogs triggered the country-wide backlash.
Despite the public outrage and calls to veto the bill, the parliament’s website reported later in the evening on Tuesday that Zelenskyy had signed it into law.
This article has been updated.
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