Zelensky’s reversal leaves questions over anti-corruption safeguards

Ukraine restored the independence of its specialised anti-corruption agencies after legislation in July 2025 had placed NABU and SAPO under the politically appointed prosecutor general. Protests and international criticism preceded the reversal. European Council President António Costa welcomed Zelensky’s signature on the corrective law on 31 July.

The cost of weakening oversight

Weakening independent scrutiny was a serious political misjudgement for a government relying on international confidence. Zelensky initially invoked the need to counter Russian influence, then proposed renewed guarantees of institutional independence. The correction addressed the immediate legal position but left a question of political judgement: safeguards intended to constrain power had first been weakened by those exercising it.