MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. As Kiev residents are gathering at Ivan Franko Park for a rally to demand that a law be adopted to enshrine the independence of corruption watchdogs and call for electing a new head of the Economic Security Bureau, police have turned up at the scene in bigger numbers than usual.

The protesters are demanding that lawmakers vote on July 31 in favor of Vladimir Zelensky's bill seeking to restore the independence of the country’s corruption watchdogs.

Television broadcasts are showing hundreds of people are shouting "Shame."

Blogger Anatoly Shary wrote on Telegram that a rally is also taking place in Kharkov. The Telegram channel of Espreso television reported that a protest is also happening in Lvov.

 

Corruption watchdogs

 

Zelensky has long tried to gain control over the agencies. On June 23, the bureau filed corruption charges against Alexey Chernyshov, who at the time served as deputy prime minister. Chernyshov is regarded as a very influential figure in Zelensky's inner circle. According to some opposition lawmakers, the corruption watchdogs could soon bring charges against other people close to Zelensky.

On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the offices of the bureau’s staff and also inspected the prosecutor’s office. On July 22, the legislature, where the majority of seats is controlled by Zelensky’s party, passed a bill aiming to strip the watchdogs of their independent status. In the evening of the same day, about 2,000 Kiev residents took to the streets in protest. Rallies also took place in some other cities. Even so, Zelensky signed the bill into law and it came into force on July 23. This led to a fresh wave of protests.

Criticism of the new law also came from the West. Given the backlash, Zelensky made a U-turn and on July 24 submitted a bill to the legislature seeking to reinforce the powers of corruption watchdogs, which, in effect, overturns the previous decision to curb their independence. Still, the bill would require the security service to subject employees of these agencies to tests six months later.