MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) has passed a law reaffirming the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), according to a live broadcast on the Rada TV channel.

As many as 330 deputies voted in favor of the law. Most of the votes were cast by the Servant of the People pro-government political party (214 votes). On July 22, this party backed the adoption of a law weakening the independence of anti-corruption agencies. Nobody voted against the law.

The law was adopted in its final reading in an expedited manner.

Shortly after the law was passed, lawmakers voted for the urgent signing of the document by Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk. This decision was upheld by 326 Ukrainian lawmakers. Later, Stefanchuk stated in a live broadcast that he had already signed the law reaffirming the independence of NABU and SAPO. This means it is now up to Zelensky to sign the law.

Verkhovna Rada Deputy Alexey Goncharenko (recognized as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) earlier said that Zelensky "dealt" with the decision to eliminate the autonomy of anti-corruption bodies "in one day." "We are waiting for the same kind of reaction," he added.

After the Verkhovna Rada adopted its decision, supporters of the NABU and SAPO independence who had been monitoring the voting process near the parliament building celebrated and applauded and then began to disperse.

Situation with Ukraine’s corruption watchdogs

Zelensky has long tried to gain control over both agencies. On June 23, the bureau filed corruption charges against Alexey Chernyshov, who at the time served as Ukraine’s deputy prime minister. Chernyshov is regarded as a very influential figure in Zelensky’s inner circle, and the charges against him sharpened the conflict. 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 staff and also inspected the prosecutor’s office. On July 22, the Ukrainian parliament, where the majority of seats is controlled by Zelensky’s party, passed a bill aiming to strip the NABU and SAPO of their independent status. That same evening, about 2,000 residents of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities took to the streets in protest. Even so, Zelensky signed the bill into law and it came into force on July 23. This led to a new wave of protests.

Kiev’s decision regarding the NABU and SAPO has drawn criticism of the West. On July 24, Zelensky submitted to the legislature a bill on the so-called strengthening of the powers of the anti-corruption bodies, which, in fact, 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.