MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. The rallies that broke out in Ukraine after Vladimir Zelensky signed a law stripping anti-corruption bodies of independence were not spontaneous, but coordinated, said Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod.
"Have you seen people coming out and gathering for such rallies against forced mobilization, for demobilization, etc. This is something to keep in mind. They don't care about people being killed, but this thing that affects little globally has our young people up in arms. Or maybe someone else has a stake in this, and they are coordinating this whole thing," she said in an interview with Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bizyayev.
The politician also noted that the protesters do not understand the law or what they are protesting against.
"I told you how I talked to five people, and none of these five individuals had any idea what the law was about or what was going on," she added. Skorokhod is sure that "there are certain curators" who have influence "on some young people" and " gather them for such meetings." The MP did not mention who coordinated the protests.
The situation with NACB and SACPO
Zelensky has long tried to establish control over NACB and SACPO, but they remained independent. On June 23, NACB filed corruption charges against Alexei Chernyshov, who used to be deputy prime minister and minister of national unity for Ukraine. Chernyshov is considered a very influential figure in Zelensky's inner circle, and this escalated the conflict. According to opposition deputies, anti-corruption authorities could soon bring charges against other people close to Zelensky.
On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out searches at NACB, and also raided SACPO. On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada, where the majority of deputies belong to Zelensky’s party, passed a law stripping NACB and SACPO of independence.
That evening about 2,000 residents of Kiev rallied, with rallies spreading to other cities as well. However, Zelensky signed the law. It came into force on July 23.
This triggered new protests. The protesters held posters with the image of Zelensky and Yermak accompanied by slogans like "Murderers of democracy are traitors of Ukraine" and "Dictators." The posters also said that "these two" are destroying the country, and "Ukrainians are not slaves." At another rally, men in balaclavas burned pictures of Zelensky and Yermak.
The West also blasted Kiev for the laws.
Zelensky backtracked and on Thursday when he submitted to parliament a bill on the so-called strengthening of the powers of anti-corruption authorities, which, in fact, reverses the previous decision to limit the independence of NACB and SACPO.