Today, rallies against the elimination of the independence of NABU and SAPO are taking place in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro
22 July 2025 20:27
on July 21, veteran Dmytro Kozyatynskyi announced a protest in Kyiv against the law, which, according to anti-corruption organizations, effectively destroys the independence of NABU and SAPO. The action will begin at 20:00 on the square near the Ivan Franko Theater.
This was reported by the Anti-Corruption Action Center and blogger Ihor Lachenkov, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Kozyatynsky called on citizens to gather without party symbols, with posters on cardboard, and to refrain from listening to politicians. He emphasized that the protest should stay out of politics.
Journalist Yanina Sokolova reported that similar actions will be held in:
- Dnipro – near the Ukraina Hotel
- Lviv – near the Shevchenko monument
The beginning is also at 20:00.
These protests are a reaction to draft law No. 12414, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on July 22.
According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak and AntAC head Vitaliy Shabunin, the document subordinates NABU and SAPO to the Prosecutor General and destroys their institutional independence.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the law provides for the Prosecutor General’s right
- access to any cases of the NABU and the SAPO and transfer them to other bodies;
- to issue mandatory written instructions to NABU detectives;
- independently close cases against top officials;
- sole resolution of disputes on jurisdiction and signing of suspicions;
- limiting the procedural autonomy of the Head of the SAPO.
The SAPO and NABU issued an appeal to MPs urging them to abstain from voting for the draft law in its current version, calling it “catastrophic for the independence of the anti-corruption system.”
Human rights activists and Transparency International Ukraine have also expressed concern, noting that the law violates the Regulation of the Rada and undermines the achievements of anti-corruption reform.
In addition, the committee’s consideration was held without the publication of a comparative table of amendments – MPs voted in the dark.
In addition, amid the discussion of the law, SBU officers conducted searches at NABU and SAPO. One of the heads of the NABU’s interregional departments, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, was accused of having business ties with Russia. The SBU also served a notice of suspicion of high treason on MP from the OPFL, Fedir Khrystenko, for attempts to influence the NABU in the interests of Russia.
