As uneventful diplomatic talks in Istanbul wrap up with little more than talk of a prisoners of war swap and a push for more meetings, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky apparently has another problem on his hands — his own people.
This week, the largest protests against the Zelensky government since the war started rocked major Ukrainian cities. Ukrainians protesting the new law, which Zelensky says curtails Russian influence, but critics say strips key anti-corruption bodies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), of their independence from the Ukrainian government. Namely, Ukraine's prosecutor general, appointed by Zelensky, would receive new powers over NABU and SAPO in the process.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen even suggested the legislation, which she says conflicts with Europe’s “respect for the rule of law,” could hinder Ukraine’s EU eligibility.
Reeling from the backlash, Zelensky has been quick to backpedal. He handed a new anti-corruption bill to Ukraine’s Parliament on Thursday, which will re-establish NABU and SAPO’s independence from the Ukrainian government if it becomes law. The Parliament will consider the new legislation next week.
"Everyone has heard what people are saying these days... on social media, to each other, on the streets. It's not falling on deaf ears," Zelensky said in an address Wednesday evening.
Some protestors say they will back down if Zelensky changes course on his new law. But others see a unique opportunity to demonstrate broader frustrations with the government, its history of corruption, and handling of the war. This may spell further political trouble for Zelensky.
“If people are out protesting now, it's not because they admire and support NABU and SAPO... It's because this spark makes it permissible to express pent-up anger at Zelensky, his team and daily grotesque, in-your-face corruption,” Almut Rochowanski, activist and Quincy Institute non-resident fellow, wrote on X.
“Until now, expressing criticism of Zelensky has felt awkward, unpatriotic and in fact dangerous. They'd rather criticize some lower-level figure for this or that failure. In this sense, the elimination of NABU and SAPO's independence functions as a strawman,” she wrote.
In other Ukraine war news this week:
Citing the Telegram account of Russian-appointed local official Vladimir Saldo, Al Jazeera reported that a Ukrainian drone strike hit a private bus in Russian-occupied Kherson. The attack killed three people and, according to Saldo, three more are injured and “in serious condition.”
The Netherlands will "substantially contribute" towards Patriot air defense system deliveries to Ukraine, according to Newsweek. Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans wrote on X Monday that details regarding these Patriot deliveries "will be worked out soon.” According to DW, Germany has also pledged to provide 5 Patriot missile systems to Kyiv.
Now that Trump has established a 50 day deadline for Russia to end the Ukraine war, the New York Times reports that Republican lawmakers previously pushing a Russia sanctions package, which would have slapped 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian energy, have paused such efforts for the time being. Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff if his demands aren’t met.
From State Department:
At the State Department Press briefing on July 22, spokesperson Tammy Bruce explained that Trump’s 50 day deadline for Russia to attain peace in Ukraine is not “static.” Rather, she said this deadline is subject to the ebbs and flows of the war and its negotiations.
“I would caution, when the President notes a block of time or a window, that it could be any time in that window. We’ve already seen that in one instance. There is — at the same time, with negotiations — as I mentioned before without going into the details — if there’s a genuine negotiation happening and it is in – it’s in motion, then things can change rapidly; that the day you set up a window, two days later it can be different because of the conversations that have been had,” Bruce explained.
“We’ve seen him give windows before, and he’s acted very quickly within a block, and I think that’s why [the deadline Trump set] matters.”
