Zelenskyy pledges new bill on anti-corruption agencies’ independence as protests continue | Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised a new draft law on Wednesday to strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine on Wednesday to gain a popular anger in the decision of the two independent corruption agencies.

Thousands of protesters participated in the streets of Kiev during a second day, while European leaders expressed their concerns in the controversial decision of the President of the Ukrainian President. The demonstrators gathered outside the presidential office and shouted anti -government slogans.

They want the agencies to disrupt a controversial law that effectively puts them under government control. At a video address, Zelenskyy tried to mislead the criticisms by promising a new presidential bill.

He said he would guarantee the independence of the Anti -Corruption Institutions and that he would also provide a “Russian influence”. “Of course, everyone heard what people say these days – on social media, to each other, on the streets. He does not fall into the deaf ears,” he added.

However, the visible concession protesters ineffective. Zelenskyy said that he did not agree to scrape the controversial aspects of the bill on Tuesday and that Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, who approved the changes, went on vacation for summer vacation.

Olha Ivanova, who worked in the anti -corruption sector, said the government calculated that protests would explode. He predicted that they would continue. “Civil society is very big in Ukraine. From time to time we should remind people that we have chosen them,” he said.

Ivanova, in English and Ukraine, “Did you lose your mind?” Zelenskyy said that he hoped that he would reverse his decision: “He’s not a dictator. Nobody will say it.

European supporters of Ukraine, including Germany, France and Sweden reiterated concerns about the new legislation approved by the President of the Ukraine on Tuesday night. Warned that he can do Prevent Kiev’s attempt to join the EU And prevent the fight against corruption.

The bill gives comprehensive powers to the prosecutor’s office. Now, two independent agencies-Anti-National Corruption Office and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor-Anti-Corruption Prosecutor can decide on what cases.

The two institutions have been the key to the fight against corruption and billions of international assistance and investment. Critics say they have been removed from their autonomy and make them distinct from ordinary law enforcement officers.

Zelenskyy said that there was a need for shaking to clean the “Anti -Corruption Infrastructure ğı claimed by Ukraine’s Russian connections. On Wednesday, he held a meeting with the heads of law enforcement and Anti -Corruption Agencies at his presidential office in Kiev.

Olena Kurnytska, a 21 -year -old student at York University, joined the protest on Wednesday for the first time. “I want to see the future, not the flashbacks,” a poster shook. He said: olmak Being here is our civil duty. It is easy to exploit. A war -time government can bend democracy more easily. ”

The European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen was one of the few leading European figures that expressed unhappiness in legislative changes. His spokesman asked Zelenskyy to explain and conveyed his strong concerns.

“Respect and corruption of the rule of law are the basic elements of the European Union. As a candidate country, Ukraine is expected to fully maintain these standards. There is no compromise.”

EU’s Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, in a sharp message to Kiev, Trust during the war time “It is easy to lose with a significant mistake by leadership… Transparency and open European dialogue is the only way to repair [it]. “

France’s European Minister Benjamin Haddad said it was still time for Ukraine to reversed its decision. “It’s not too late to go back to this,” France Inter Radio said to France. “We will be extremely vigilant about it.”

The popular reaction to the bill turns into the biggest internal political crisis of Zelenskyy’s premiere. On Wednesday, the crowd was larger than the previous night. Street protests in several cities have been the first since Vladimir Putin’s 2022 full -scale invasion.

Civil society leaders accused the presidential administration of violating an informal agreement with society. They say that the agreement with the government – the official abuse of official abuse with Russia is inappropriate – they are definitely over.

Approximately 3,000 demonstrators gathered directly outside the management complex of Zelenskyy on Wednesday evening and shouted slogans under the window. They contained “embarrassment”, “we are force” and “the law veto”.

Zelenskyy, who had previously sent to Telegram, said the Ukrainians encountered a “common enemy” in the form of “Russian invaders”. From the public criticism, he said: “We all hear what society is saying. We see what people expect from state institutions to ensure justice and productivity of every institution.”

Yuriy Sak, former Advisor to the Ministry of Defense of the Ukrainian Defense, said that Ukrainians had a strong tradition of historical protest against the Soviet periods and today that resembles authoritarianism or dictatorship.

“This is in our DNA. Where the red line is and people have a very good meaning when they pass this line. If someone tries to tighten their grip, people will be poured into the streets.

Sak, Kiev and other cities under the Russian missile attack, most of the evenings, the collective mood of the air strikes that voiced in the evening. “Whenever we see the authoritarianism in the movement, Ukraine goes out in a quiet sire in their heads,” he said.