People attend the rally against the law #12414, that regulates the work of National Anti-Curruption Bureau and the Soecial Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 22, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk / The Kyiv Independent)
Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets following the parliament’s hasty decision to crush the independent anti-corruption institutions.
Protesters gathered near the Ivan Franko Theater in downtown Kyiv — just a few blocks from the President’s Office — at 8 p.m. local time.
By then, President Volodymyr Zelensky had not yet officially signed the newly adopted law that critics say was to dismantle the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
The main chant repeated over and over was directed at the president — “Veto the law!”
“If he doesn’t veto it, it’s like spitting in the face of every mother, wife, and child who’s lost a loved one at the front. It’s trampling the memory of all those who died for our freedom, dignity, and independence,” 40-year-old lawyer Maryna told the Kyiv Independent at the protest.
“Today, we are essentially returning to Jan. 16, 2014 — a time when our country faced the threat of dictatorship,” she went on, referring to the day when the Ukrainian parliament controlled by then-President Viktor Yanukovych passed laws banning mass protest and freedom of speech during the EuroMaidan Revolution.
Yanukovych was ousted from power over a month after the so-called “dictatorship laws” were adopted.
“Unfortunately, this is happening again now, without any explanations to the public. And all this is taking place under martial law, when many citizens are unable to protect their rights.”
People attend the rally against the law #12414, that regulates the work of National Anti-Curruption Bureau and the Soecial Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 22, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk / The Kyiv Independent)
Kyiv residents take part in a rally against the implementation of a draft law No. 12414, that regulates the work of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 22, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Draped in blue and yellow flags, many of the demonstrators stood shoulder to shoulder, signs held high, scrawled with a mix of satire and outrage.
The protest signs varied from “I’m fed up,” and “Get your hands off NABU,” to those referencing a popular song by writer and singer Serhiy Zhadan — “The f*ck I need a system that works against me.”
Chanting — “Veto the law,” “Ukraine is not Russia,” and those targeting Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak — were loud enough to reach the building where the President’s Office is located just a few dozen meters up the hill.
Their voices echoed down the blocked-off street, defiant in the face of what they see as a rollback of hard-won democratic progress.
“It’s the least one can do when the authorities betray the people, when the independence of anti-corruption bodies is discredited and put in danger,” Volodymyr Kulyk, 62, a professor at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), told the Kyiv Independent at the protest.
“That’s not normal, and that’s why I’m here, defending both myself and Ukrainian people.”
“The Ukrainians have this tradition of protesting in the street, and now during the war, it’s problematic because, strictly speaking, public gatherings are prohibited. But, as you can see here, people believe it’s better to violate a minor provision of the law than to let the authorities be unpunishable and omnipotent,” he continued.
“These decisions jeopardize Ukraine’s prospect of EU integration. So, we are unhappy when Hungary, for example, blocks our EU integration. But this law will block our EU integration even worse.”
Most of those who gathered were young people, many of whom were still children during the EuroMaidan Revolution that saw a victory of the pro-Western democratic camp 11 years ago. But those that were too young to protest in 2013 and 2014 see the current protest as a continuation of the same fight for Ukraine’s independence and democracy.
“As a conscious citizen of Ukraine, who lived in Europe for a year and came back because of a desire to live in this country and help build it, I simply cannot stand by and watch everything that our predecessors fought for in 2014 — and what our soldiers are fighting for now — be destroyed,” 20-year-old student Myroslav Kinakh told the Kyiv Independent.
Kyiv residents take part in a rally against the implementation of a draft law No. 12414, that regulates the work of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 22, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“That’s not normal, and that’s why I’m here, defending both myself and Ukrainian people.”
Twenty-two-year-old Volodymyr, who joined a protest along with his friends, echoes this sentiment, saying he couldn’t imagine that the Ukrainian authorities would decide to take such a step.
“Europeans can’t withhold support from us, because we’re saving them money on their own defense and buying them time,” he said.
“If our international partners aren’t calling this out, if they’re not saying this kind of thing is unacceptable, then it’s up to civil society to step in.”
“This (law) undermines the very reason Ukraine continues to fight — because we’re supposed to be a young democracy standing up to an old autocracy. But now we’re starting to look more and more alike. And if that’s the case, why should anyone support us?”
Throughout the day, Zelensky remained silent. His office didn’t provide comments and avoided any public statements on the topics. Demonstrators that gathered in the evening had hoped that he might still veto the law amid mounting public backlash.
When midnight curfew approached and people began to leave, the parliament’s website showed that Zelensky had signed the law, effectively crushing the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies.
Twenty-eight-year-old designer Yanina said she believes this move may trigger protests reminiscent of the EuroMaidan.
“We Ukrainians know how to stand up for our rights and how to remind others that the fight must go on.”
At night, Ukrainians began sharing the date — tomorrow at 8 p.m., same place.
Note from the author:
Hello there! This is Kateryna Denisova, the author of this piece.
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Zelensky dismantles Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, brings law enforcement agencies under his thumb
Ukraine faced a watershed moment on July 22 as parliament passed, and the president signed, a bill that effectively eliminates the independence of the country’s anti-corruption institutions. The bill will subordinate the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) to the prosecutor general. Activists and opposition lawmakers say that this will make it impossible for the anti-corruption agencies to investigate top incumbent officials without
