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23 Oct 2025

Zelensky faces backlash as Ukrainians protest against new anti-corruption law

Zelensky faces backlash as Ukrainians protest against new anti-corruption law

Ukrainian activists have called for more protests against a law they say weakens the country’s anti-corruption bodies, following the first major demonstration against the country’s government in more than three years of war.

The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war with Russia, convened the heads of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption and security agencies on Wednesday morning in response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by Parliament.

“We all hear what society says,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption.

“Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment,” the Ukrainian leader said.

He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness. A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said.

Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Mr Zelensky to veto the controversial bill. After Mr Zelensky approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in the centre of Kyiv on Wednesday evening.

The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Mr Zelensky’s circle greater influence over investigations.

Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in western aid in its fight against Russia’s three-year invasion.

In a post on X, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, expressed concern over the vote in the Ukrainian parliament, called the Rada, calling it “a serious step back”.

The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament’s decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners. It accused authorities of “dismantling” the country’s anti-corruption architecture.

Mr Zelensky has been the international face of Ukraine’s determination to defeat Russia’s all-out invasion, and his domestic troubles are an unwelcome diversion from the war effort.

Mr Zelensky said the new law clears out “Russian influence” from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were years-long delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money.

“The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated,” Mr Zelensky said in a Telegram post after midnight on Wednesday. “For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason – in very nice countries and without legal consequences – and this is not normal.”

He did not provide examples of what he said was Russian interference.

Russian officials relished Mr Zelensky’s difficulties. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocked Mr Zelensky’s claim of Russian infiltration into the anti-corruption agency, noting sarcastically that “they might just as well pull a couple of bears out of the corner”.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were set to meet in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of direct talks in two months, the Kremlin and Ukrainian officials said. The meeting was not expected to make progress on ending the war and would likely focus on exchanges of prisoners of war.

Mr Zelensky said the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul “will again insist on the need for an immediate and complete ceasefire, including… strikes on civilian infrastructure”.

Russian drone strikes knocked out power to more than 220,000 customers in Ukraine’s north-eastern region of Sumy, Mr Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that repairs restored most of the supply in hours.

Ukrainian and western officials have accused the Kremlin of stalling in the talks in order for its bigger army to capture more Ukrainian land.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump threatened Russia with severe economic sanctions and said more American weapons, paid for by European countries, would go to Ukraine.

Mr Trump hardened his stance towards Moscow after months of frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin about unsuccessful talks for a ceasefire.

Mr Trump gave Russia until early September to agree to a ceasefire.

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