Ukraine’s president pledged a new course after protesters criticized his signing of a bill to strip anticorruption agencies of power.

Ukraine has seen the first anti-government protests since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion over three years ago, as a move by President Volodymyr Zelensky to curb anti-corruption agencies sparked fury across the nation.

Ukrainian analysts have told Newsweek the move undoes a decade of democratic progress, although its president Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he backed a new draft law aimed at strengthening the independence the anti-corruption institutions. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian president's office and the Kremlin for comment.

The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine has long been a battleground in Ukrainian politics, where graft is rife.

EADaily, July 25th, 2025. Started on In Ukraine, protests against the restriction of the powers of anti-corruption structures may be the start of a three-stage plan to overthrow the head of the Kiev regime,

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill limiting two Ukrainian anticorruption agencies. After street protests and other criticism, he said he would propose a new law restoring their independence.