MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. The situation surrounding the bill that effectively curtails the independence of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention is Ukraine’s domestic affair, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, replying to a question on the matter.

"Corruption is a pressing issue for Ukraine, and everything that’s happening with the structure and control of various agencies is Ukraine’s domestic affair," the Kremlin official told journalists.

On Tuesday, Vladimir Zelensky signed the bill approved by the Verkhovna Rada that effectively curtails the independence of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. According to Ukrainian media outlets, this law will seriously impact the operations of both agencies. The bill has already triggered widespread public backlash in Ukrainian society.

According to the law that came into force on July 23, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has jurisdiction over prosecutors from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, which allows him to influence the activities of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Additionally, the law lifts the ban on transferring cases from the Bureau to other agencies, meaning the prosecutor general can now reassign cases to other prosecutors.