Zelenskiy Approves Bill ‘Preserving Independence’ of Anti-corruption Bodies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy approved draft legislation on Thursday that he said would restore the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies, reversing course after an outburst of public criticism.

Measures enacted earlier this week that established greater control by the prosecutor general, a political appointee, over the two bodies had fuelled rare wartime protests and had thrown Kyiv’s EU bid into question.

Zelenskiy said on X he had approved the draft for submission to parliament later in the day, Reuters reported.

“It is important that we are maintaining unity. It is important that we are preserving independence. It is important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians,” he said.

Zelenskiy, whose image as a tireless leader of the three-year-old war against Russia’s invasion has been tarnished by the controversy, said the text of the new bill is “well-balanced”.

He did not give further details, saying only that it “guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine’s law enforcement system, independence of anti-corruption agencies, and reliable protection…against any Russian influence”.