Public sentiment towards President Zelensky is predominantly negative, marked by widespread frustration and distrust regarding ongoing corruption and his recent legislation undermining anti-corruption institutions. Commenters view his actions as self-serving and detrimental to Ukraine's EU aspirations, with a strong call for accountability and new leadership. The protests are seen as a manifestation of this collective dissent, highlighting concerns over the political situation amidst the ongoing war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian Government

International Community

What is the reason parliament want to dismantle anti-corruption institutions? 
What is the issue they are trying to resolve?

EducationalImpact633

AunMeLlevaLaConcha

Despite the political element,  this is what Russia really fears. A democratic, free Ukraine where Ukrainians voice their needs to their government.

cealild

As much as I love to see democracy alive and well in Ukraine, I can't help but be extremely concerned for these people's safety

theshadypineapple

What an unbelievable mis step by the government.

ukrainianhab

I would like to remark to that the protests are not against dismanteling the institutions, but again the signature of the amendments to the draft law №12414 by the President of Ukraine, which would require the autorisation of the prosecutor general to investigate corruption schemes. In nutshell, these amendments will make NABU and SAPO to depend on the will of the prosecutor general. I quote a translation of the paragraph of a law

&gt;Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, in order to prevent, detect, stop and solve criminal offences referred to in this Article under its jurisdiction, by decision of the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and in agreement with the Prosecutor General (person performing his/her duties) may also investigate criminal offences referred to the jurisdiction of investigators of other bodies.

No_Willingness1899

Yeah, so this is not great. I know for a fact that my government (Norway) have been hesitant to support Ukraine with money because of the fear of corruption. 

I hope Ukraine understands that they have to be clean as a whistle if they want continued support. That support will dry up real fast if it shows that our tax money is not used in good faith.

beseri

herbettalou

Some context:

Zelensky's party (People's Servants) with bunch of other delegates accepted law that basically would make NABU (Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine made per EU and IMF request; rather ineffective, but exist...ed?) to obey with Prosecutor-General orders, who's appointed by President. Before they were independent from the government, acting in their own field.

President is yet to sign it tho.

Before it, NABU and government got into clash, as NABU opened cases against many officials, partly including Zelensky himself (one of the inspected cases PROBABLY was tied to him; so 'partly') and SBU started to arrest some of the NABU servicemen, stating that they're spies. It isn't known if they actually were or not yet.

It isn't first time of them interfering with Zelensky's appointees, eg Knyzev, former Head of Supreme Court of Ukraine, appointed by Zelensky, was arrested after their case. But Ukraine judicial system is messy, so he's still under investigation (but under personal commitment and fired from his status).

Mamkes

To all foreign friends out there: imagine our faces when this shit came up and the WAR is still nowhere near the end

It’s becoming hard to not being an alcoholic

overSizedHyperPoop

Could there be more to this then we know? Or could there be others pulling some strings?

SnooCalculations3197

I'm worried about People and mainly Russian bots that are going to use this to push a pro russian agenda you know it will happen online

Samuelwankenobi_

Ukrainians are good people. It is imperative that we, EU, continue to help

LudwigLoewenlunte

They just shit everything good the army and people on the frontlines have done.

For what?

CraftAnxious2491

russia works in various ways, when they don’t try to kill you, they will try to corrupt you. Don’t let them win.

ArtemiOll

So many questions. On the broad side, people will see this is as a very bad thing. 

I don’t know if Ukraine is even ready to be very democratic while at war. Even the USA has so many flaws and we got Trump in power knowing full well he was corrupted, tempered and cheated with all kind of sht. Even knowing he would help Russia. 

What if the anti corruption is corrupted, working on taking down the best generals and fighter within Ukraine? Does Ukraine have the resources to investigate them while at war with Russia?

letsridetheworld

This is bad for continuing support for Ukraine. Many nations have stated corruption as a barrier to aid, and moves like this will undermine the strides that have been made. I'm surprised Zelensky doesn't see that?

SemiDesperado

Well, I do not know about the background and cannot comment on what would be the best way or if Zelensky is this or that.

But can we just acknowledge that these are peaceful protests of large groups. And no sign of any police trying to break them up.

Ukraine is a democracy now and for me, Zelensky is upholding the law.

Democracy is not about finding the perfect solution, but negotiating compromise.

I am just happy for those Ukrainians to have the freedom to protest on the streets. Go try that in Moscow. Or L.A.

IamKrefible

Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦🇺🇦 
Never Surrender

ubo17

Great to see people standing up for themselves, I will stay home and play video games but I'm glad others are willing to go out.

artlastfirst

That's basically happening here in the us (just the dismantling of anti-corruption institutions, not the protests against them) but everyone is more concerned with why the government won't release the files of a convicted pedophile because they obviously implicate our president...who is no longer supporting Ukraine.

copperglass78

What an unwise move if you expect the rest of the world to pump billions of $$$ into that country.

AZMD911

Dismantling anti-corruption institutions? Good luck getting any more support and donations, if this is the way they’re going.

GatorNator83

Internal strife like this is the last thing Ukraine needs,  it is very sad,  ...and l really hate to say this but it could even result in the beginning of the end for Ukraine..

IndicationLazy4713

[deleted]

This could be disastrous for Ukraine in terms of international support and trust
Over here in Europe the feeling is, that Zelensky has now abandoned any decency and is actively protecting corrupt politicians and friends. 
This decision puts the future of Ukraine on the line. Especially as they pushed this through without any discussions or any possibility of public discourse.

mastermindman99

dhanter

This is truly a disgrace. Ultimate power ultimately corrupts. Just look at Hungary.

ElectricDoughnutHole

Ukraine also recently arrested an anti corruption activist and a political opponent. I am all for Ukraine but this is a very bad sign.

Heliomantle

as an outside observer, i would trust Zelensky, whatever he does

Putrid-Material5197

It's actually heartbreaking to watch Ukrainian politicians sabotaging the countries EU accession over and over and over again, even though the people clearly want it.
 
On the other hand, the Ukrainian people time and time again show the rest of the world the importance of standing up to your government  in a meaningful way.
 
Really hope these protests will lead to something.

S1mba93

What's gonna happen now? What does it mean?

_grizzlydog

Jdghgh

I think this might just be one of those situations where it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission...Only time will tell.

HonestBobcat7171

didnt he run on an anti corruption platform

Pristine-Breath6745

Really BAD move by the Ukrainian government. Look, I'm against Russian imperialism and Russia is no better in terms of corruption, but this law is perhaps the worst decision that the current Ukrainian government since 2019 has made yet.

TheAustrianAnimat87

Two2Trails

Callum1710

This is a move to try to mitigate Russian influence. Nabu agents were found to be working for Putin, transparency Ukraine audited  them as is and said they were only moderately effective. Basically corrupt anti-corruption agency.

Doomlord1s

I see people who care and will not accept bullshit from anyone. The future is bright, this is why Ukraine belongs in EU, not russia

Jewboy08

Im skeptical of any anti Zelensky article. I see after scrolling quite a bit down that there’s more to the story and it involves countering Russian influence on some agencies.  Keep in mind the power of Russian propaganda and their troll farms and fake accounts.

3kniven6gash

disturbed_waffles

I’m assuming this is something Trump is making him do, trump is doing similar things in destroying anti corruption laws. This could be to put him in a tough spot where you either don’t get military aid or you get public pushback 

Inevitable-Steph

This is not a good move and the optics are terrible. 

Morale and legitimacy are battlefield assets. This bill erodes both.

MmmSnoutsAndEntrails

its interesting that the parliament overwhelmingly supported the law, dont think a veto was an option (and fyi, I have personal friends in Kyiv who protested)

gogofcomedy

This couldn't be worse timimg and extremely tone-deaf to say the least.

Intrepid_Base_4438

NightExtension9254

The most corrupt country in Europe weaking anti-corruption measures. No suprises there.

If people actually knew why Ukraine hasn't been included in the EU yet and how it was before the war, this wouldn't be a suprise at all.

Zelensky is going great leadership at the war, but he is not different than another other politian in Ukraine with respect to other things.

ETA: Zelensky signed this into affect.

Zontromm

I doubt Zelensky and his party want to become authoritarian; something else is going on here. 

Still, Zelensky needs to come out and explain this properly and not rush to implement the bill.

PitifulEar3303

Are they ever gonna have elections there or no?

NoClueNico

Isn't "US backed anti-corruption" an oxymoron?

Original_Tip_7952

Woahhh. Not the people who banned all the leftist parties in the country. What a shock...

djengle2

Oh did we remember that Ukraine was one of Europe's most corrupt nations before this all started? Funny how that was all scrubbed from the internet

kityyo

263-13.

It's not like the vote was particularly close. What's motivating this?

RobutNotRobot

Country that gets billions in funding because of the war, wants to limit anti-corruption laws. Why is anyone surprised. This is a once over in a lifetime opportunity for them to steal so much money.

simonSsspirit

Fighting evil doesn't mean one side must be a saint.

blueberrysmasher

Haha the mental gymnastics are hilarious 😂

Nx-worries1888

Gate-19

McJusterson

Reddit repeating Charlie Kirk and Marjorie Taylor Greene in the top upvoted posts here is something else.

I definitely didn't have this on my bingo card.

Johnny_SWTOR

Russia will be Russia and Ukraine will be Ukraine.

EsHoraDeLima

Undermining anti-corruption institutions is a huge step backward for Ukraine. Trust and transparency are vital, especially now. The protests are justified—accountability must be upheld.

khanh0707

Gotta get rich while no one is looking. 
That’s what it seems like. 
The he sad thing is that regular people will get boned the most.

Cold-Hand7629

No_Bakecrabs

Why does it sound like trump made an ultimatum to Ukraine?

Iinktolyn

From a politico article it says that the anti-corruption agency members were revealed to have ties to Russia, however the evidence against them was "murky" and being seen as a pretext to undermine the anti-corruption agencies. Most European leaders and diplomats are also criticizing the law.

High_Ground-

Why is OP getting downvoted for posting this?  Are we supposed to blindly worship Ukraine because of the Russian invasion?

zimbabwes

Regardless of the politics of this, sounds like a pretty bad idea to have a ton of people in one place like this, in a war zone.

OneRobotBoii

I'd say that's a valid protest given recent events. 

"President Volodymyr Zelenskiy broadened his battle against graft on Friday, firing all the heads of Ukraine's regional army recruitment centres as the war with Russia enters a critical stage.

Zelenskiy said a state investigation into centres across Ukraine had exposed abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite a wartime ban on them leaving the country."

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-fire-all-regional-military-recruitment-chiefs-zelenskiy-2023-08-11/

"The commander of a Ukrainian army unit accused of subjecting soldiers to abuse including mock crucifixions is facing corruption charges after allegedly ordering troops to build him a house.

Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk, the commander of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of taking four soldiers from their duties to do construction work for his new home in the Khmelnytskyi region in autumn 2023."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/commander-ukraine-mock-crucifixion-army-174432715.html

lemmiwinks316

People who are downvoting this are dumb. Just because many of us support Ukraine in their defense of Russia shouldn't mean we ignore the other issues the country is facing.

CrimsonEagle124

pnkgtr

Even a casual perusal of OP's post history reveals a pattern of negative posts about Ukraine, so even if this is a legitimate post, they most certainly appear to be strongly invested in presenting a very negative image of Ukraine online.  Multiple comments discussing Russia's military strength as well.

Do what you will with that information

Descartessetracsed

Pretty much everyone BESIDES Zelensky has been replaced in the past 2 years due to rampant corruption... then he signs this? 

Odd coincidence! /s

EUGsk8rBoi42p

Ukraine has had the reputation for being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Things have only gotten worse since the Russian invasion.

Ok_Region1835

One of Europe's most corrupt countries being corrupt. Who'd a thunk it?

hotpot1997

now rebuild it without an evidence sharing agreement with the united states

Thestrongestzero

DajoDaBrain

They'll all be rounded up and taken to the front for this little demonstration

CallousDisregard13

Yeah, I’m not persuaded that  Zelensky signed this bill because he wants to make corruption easier, so I think there’s something going on.

b1daly

Sure thing Boris.

Keep up looking for Moose &amp; Squirrel!

covfefe-boy

Ain’t it beautiful how they’re allowed to protest, even during war time (though not technically allowed). Good luck even thinking of doing that in Russia or Belarus.

Ukraine must remain being free and democratic. Stay strong Ukraine 💪.

Gil15

copacabanna1

Dang ain’t no working person happy in this world. 

Sea-Region1135

Not defending Ukraine here but some contributors seem to be forgetting that the USA is possibly the most corrupt country on the planet right now.

Slava Ukraini

Ehernan

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a-mirror-bot

I feel so bad for the Ukrainian people that they are led by an idiot.

thehappyleper213

xu235

alannwatts

Mediocratee

Dumb move by Selensky honestly. He has emergency powers, last thing you want to do when the entire country trusts you is misuse that trust.

Altruistic_Bass539

Western media: "Worship Ukraine because Russia is bad"

Mission_Pay_3373

Title is making it sound like they are being destroyed but they are not. The organizations are not being destroyed but the agencies won’t be independent anymore. The Prosecutor General who is appointed by Zelenskyy will have more power in deciding which corruption cases are pursued. This is why you see protests and will probably come back to hurt the country in the future.

PenguinKing15

Muted-Ad610

Misleading title, and after doing some basic reading, it appears this move is a good thing.
Everyone relax and educate yourselves before blasting Z-man.

fr0ntl1n3

Ah and people still claim Ukraine isnt controlled by a nazi party in 2025.

May the proletariat of Ukraine and Russia overthrow their bourgeoisie nazi governments and be free

666SpeedWeedDemon666


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Answer: Ukraine has 2 anti-corruption agencies, the NABU and SAPO. Before this law those agencies were independent and thus the government couldn't meddle in their business, that being anti-corruption. Because of this law those agencies now fall under the prosecutor-general which means the government now can pick and choose who to persecute and who not to.

This effectively means that in the past if the government was to be corrupt the agencies would investigate them (the politicians) and persecute them but now if there is corruption they can just decide not to investigate themselves and continue enriching themselves which means that corruption in the government theoretically won't be fixed now.

Edit: forgot to add this. We don't know the reason of this. Some say it's because of Russian infiltration, others say it's because those agencies became corrupt themselves and others claim it's a powergrab by the president because he and his inner circle are corrupt and don't want to be found out

The_memeperson

Answer: Recently the Ukranian parliament passed a law that puts two independent anti-corruption organizations, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), under the direct control of the Ukranian Prosecutor's Office which is run by Ruslan Kravchenko. Kravchenko is a close ally of Zelensky, having been appointed to the position by the president himself. 

This new law means that both the NABU and NACP lose their powers to investigate and prosecute corruption independent of the Prosecutor's Office and other law enforcement agencies.

Now here is where it gets murky: In the days leading up to this new law being enacted Ukranian intelligence agencies raided both NABU and NACP offices, arresting multiple individuals. Ukranian intelligence justified their actions saying that high ranking officials from these agencies were Russian spies. Other anti-corruption investigators were arrested in relation to car accidents which happened many years ago.

Ukranian intelligence also detained Vitalii Shabunin one of the founders of the ngo "Anti-Corruption Action Center" who is a prominent fighter of corruption in Ukraine. Shabunin was arrested for not fullfilling his duties when he was part of the Ukrainian armed forces. Shabunin himself says his arrest has been politically motivated. Shabunin is facing 10 years in jail if convicted.

Critics of the new law say this new law is meant to protect Zelensky and his allies from any sort of prosecution for corruption. Multiple prominent (former) allies of the president had already been taken to court by NABU and NACP. With this new law the Prosecutor's Office will decide who will be investigated and if the case will even go to court. The Prosecutor's Office will also control any kind of evidence collected in cases against suspects. Critics also point out that failing to address corruption in Ukrainian society would also endanger any chance the country has of joining the EU. As part of the requirements for membership Ukraine has to make major strides in this area.

The protesters are urging Zelensky to not sign the new law and block it using his veto.

Edit: Zelensky has signed the new law, making these changes official.

a_false_vacuum

Massive protests erupted in Ukraine against President Zelensky for passing legislation that undermines anti-corruption efforts, threatening Ukraine's EU membership aspirations.

Ukraine Corruption Protests

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

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What the people want