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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Protests have erupted in Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill scrapping the independence of anti-corruption groups.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian parliament, and protestors.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The bill was signed by Zelensky on July 22.
💬KEY QUOTE: Josh Rudolph of the German Marshall Fund called the moves a “brazen campaign to undermine the entire ecosystem constructed to root out corruption.”
🎯IMPACT: The crackdown and legislation have led to the first major protests against the Zelensky regime since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
IN FULL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is facing popular protests for undermining the country’s leading anti-corruption bodies, with the Ukrainian leader signing a bill that ends the independence of agencies tasked with investigating high-level corruption.
Last week, Vitalii Shabunin, a prominent anti-corruption activist and frequent critic of the Zelensky administration, was charged with evading military service and fraud, accusations he and dozens of civil society groups say are politically motivated. “This prosecution of Mr. Shabunin is the opening salvo,” said Josh Rudolph of the German Marshall Fund, calling it part of a “brazen campaign to undermine the entire ecosystem constructed to root out corruption.”
“Ми ж не лохи” – вигукує юрба на протестах у Києві. pic.twitter.com/3TeBCj6vXd
— 5 канал 🇺🇦 (@5channel) July 22, 2025
On July 21, Ukrainian security services launched sweeping raids on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), claiming Russian infiltration. Authorities detained one NABU employee, though the agency said no evidence was ever presented in previous discussions with security officials.
The following day, the Ukrainian parliament, dominated by Zelensky’s party, passed legislation giving the President-appointed prosecutor general expanded control over these anti-corruption agencies. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos warned the law would dismantle efforts to “fight high-level corruption,” urging Zelensky not to sign it.
Critics argue these moves signal a broader crackdown on dissent. “This is the moment when Zelensky and his administration have very clearly crossed the red line,” said Daria Kaleniuk, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, which Shabunin co-founded.
The backlash includes editorials in major Ukrainian media and an open letter from 59 NGOs, calling the charges against Shabunin a “deliberate attack to pressure” him. The Group of 7 (G7) also voiced “serious concerns” about the raids and legislative changes.
Happening now: The largest protest of wartime Ukraine is underway in central Kyiv over President Zelensky’s push to dismantle the country’s independent anticorruption agencies. Thousands of protesters and more pouring in. Chants of “Shame!” among others. They demand Zelensky veto… pic.twitter.com/ojEiEuLPNv
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 22, 2025
Svitlana Matviienko, executive director of the Ukrainian non-profit Agency for Legislative Initiatives, compared the new legislation to the corruption under former President Viktor Yanukovych, ousted in the Western-backed 2014 Euromaidan coup.
Anti-Zelensky protests erupted just hours after the parliament voted—the first major protests against Zelensky and his regime during the war with Russia. Some claim that thousands took part in protests in Kiev, as well as in major cities like Lviv and Dnipro.
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