{"id":970,"date":"2025-07-23T10:46:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T10:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=970"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:50:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:50:28","slug":"playing-with-fire-western-media-reacts-to-zelenskys-crackdown-on-anti-corruption-bureau-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/playing-with-fire-western-media-reacts-to-zelenskys-crackdown-on-anti-corruption-bureau-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Playing with fire\u2019: Western media reacts to Zelensky\u2019s crackdown on anti-corruption bureau"},"content":{"rendered":"
Journalists have condemned Kiev for targeting a key agency installed to prevent embezzlement of foreign aid<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Western news outlets have criticized Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky for stripping<\/a> an independent anti-corruption bureau of its autonomy and placing it under the control of the prosecutor general. The move, carried out on Tuesday, drew widespread concern from journalists and observers.<\/p>\n Zelensky signed legislative amendments on the subordination of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the office of the special anti-corruption prosecutor hours after they were rushed through parliament. The changes were enacted despite vocal opposition from the agency.<\/p>\n Established in 2015 following the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, the NABU was a cornerstone of judicial reform conditions imposed by Western governments and international financial institutions. The agency was intended to serve as a key check on official misconduct, along with Western-funded NGOs and media outlets.<\/p>\n The move to \u201cneuter\u201d<\/em> the NABU, as Axios described it, comes amid escalating tensions between the bureau and the Zelensky administration. Earlier this week, Ukraine\u2019s Security Service (SBU) executed<\/a> search warrants against at least 15 NABU personnel and arrested a top investigator on suspicion of ties to Russia.<\/p>\n \n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Zelensky defended the measures, alleging that the NABU was ineffective and compromised by Russian influence, warranting what he called a necessary purge.<\/p>\n The clampdown drew muted statements of concern from Western officials and warnings about its potential consequences from journalists.<\/p>\n \u201dIt is never a good sign when governments accused of corruption raid the agencies and activists trying to hold them to account,\u201d<\/em> wrote Bloomberg columnist Marc Champion. \u201cIt\u2019s something the country cannot afford, just as it asks<\/a> taxpayers across Europe to pump tens of billions of additional euros into its defense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Champion also pointed to \u201can emerging pattern,\u201d<\/em> referencing the recent criminal charges filed against anti-corruption activist Vitaly Shabunin, who was accused of fraud and draft evasion.<\/p>\n Axios noted that the assault on the NABU\u2019s independence came after recent improvements in US-Ukraine relations. However, the outlet cautioned that Zelensky was \u201cplaying<\/a> with fire,\u201d<\/em> recalling President Donald Trump\u2019s characterization of him as a \u201cdictator without elections\u201d<\/em> governing under martial law.<\/p>\n\u2019Neutered\u2019 NABU<\/h2>\n
\u2019Never a good sign\u2019<\/h2>\n
Zelensky \u2018playing with fire\u2019<\/h2>\n