{"id":735,"date":"2025-07-28T10:10:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=735"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:49:07","slug":"new-protests-erupt-against-zelenskys-crackdown-on-anti-graft-agencies-video-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/28\/new-protests-erupt-against-zelenskys-crackdown-on-anti-graft-agencies-video-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New protests erupt against Zelensky\u2019s crackdown on anti-graft agencies (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demonstrators are seeking to maintain pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to expedite the reversal of legislation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Kiev for a fifth consecutive day to decry Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s crackdown on two anti-corruption agencies. Although the Ukrainian leader has agreed to reverse the legislation, protesters say they will continue to pressure the authorities until the changes are fully adopted.<\/p>\n

The rallies began last week after Zelensky signed legislation handing over the oversight of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office (SAPO) to the prosecutor general, claiming the agencies were under Russian influence.<\/p>\n

Critics, however, have accused Zelensky of authoritarian tendencies, arguing that the move essentially eliminates the independence of agencies that have been investigating several high-profile corruption cases. Kiev\u2019s Western backers have also voiced discontent, warning they could reconsider aid to Ukraine if Zelensky\u2019s reforms are enacted. In the face of the backlash, Zelensky has agreed to restore the independence of the agencies.<\/p>\n

Despite the about-turn, Ukrainians still rallied in Kiev on Sunday for peaceful protests, with many carrying signs reading \u2018Cringe\u2019, \u2018Give the military a vacation\u2019, \u2018The people are the power in Ukraine\u2019, and \u2018Why does the government steal people’s money?\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>\u2018Corrupt\u2019 Ukraine cannot be trusted \u2013 ex-Trump adviser
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One sign reading \u2018I have a vacation too but I’m not a sucker\u2019 referred to discontent over a parliamentary recess that would have formally made it impossible to swiftly adopt any legislation. However, Ukrainian MPs said they will hold a session on Thursday to pass a law restoring the independence of anti-corruption agencies.<\/p>\n

The protesters also expanded their demands, calling for the appointment of a director to the Economic Security Bureau (BEB). Kiev\u2019s backers have conditioned further economic aid on BEB reforms. The demonstrators also demanded a full-scale reform of Ukraine\u2019s customs system, which is also widely seen as a factor influencing the scale of Western aid and loans to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the string of protests in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that neither NABU nor SAPO is really fighting corruption but are used by Kiev\u2019s backers as tools \u201cto control the flow of money coming to Ukraine from the West.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Demonstrators are seeking to maintain pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to expedite the reversal of legislation Hundreds of protesters have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":737,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions\/737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}