Ukrainian President Demonstrated For Passing The Anti-Corruption Agency's Confinement Law

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left)/PHOTO via X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised a new fast plan to eradicate corruption. This promise comes after a law that curbs the independence of anti-corruption agencies sparked post-war first street protests.

Opposition lawmakers and European officials on Wednesday, July 23, urged Kyiv to cancel a law signed by Zelenskyy on Tuesday, July 22.

The bill was immediately passed by parliament, a day after the security services arrested two anti-corruption officials for allegedly being linked to Russia.

In a televised address, Zelenskyy said the corruption eradication agencies known as the Prophet and the prosecutor's office known as the SAPO will continue to operate "but without any Russian influence".

"Everything must be cleaned up," he said.

In the morning, the President of Ukraine met with officials, including the leaders of NABU and SAPO, and said he would unveil a new plan to eradicate corruption within two weeks.

"We heard the voices of the public," he wrote on Telegram.

"We all have common enemies of the Russian colonialists, and the protection of the Ukrainian state requires adequate law enforcement forces and anti-corruption systems, and therefore, a true sense of justice," Zelenskyy continued.

The law passed by the President of Ukraine prompted some of the Kyiv allies in Europe to deliver their most violent criticism of Zelenskyy's rule since the Russian invasion in 2022.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities on Tuesday night to protest, the first demonstration related to the war.

"This is nonsense from the Presidential Office," said Solomiia Telishevska, 20, a student in Kyiv on vacation, to Reuters.

"This is contrary to what we stand for and fight for, namely (joining) with the European Union," he continued.

The critics of the law said the government appeared to be trying to curb the work of anti-corruption agencies to protect officials.

After decades Ukraine has been considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world, clearing its government is considered the most important requirement for Kyiv to join the European Union and integrate more widely with the West.

This issue risks offending Kyiv's most loyal allies at a very risky time, as the country is trying to improve relations with Washington, where President Donald Trump frequently criticizes Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine's anti-corruption agency is critical to its reform path. Limiting them will be a significant setback," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on X.

Benjamin Haddad, French European Affairs Minister, said it was not too late to overturn the decision.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, from Ukraine's opposition party, Holos, said he and several other lawmakers would propose a bill to overturn the major disgrace that had been adopted and signed, and would also sue the law in the Constitutional Court.