Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday that he was sending a new anti-corruption bill to Ukraine's parliament, the latest attempt to ease tensions after he approved changes to anti-corruption laws that sparked a public outcry and sharp criticism from the European Union.
Opponents of the controversial law, passed by politicians and endorsed by Mr Zelensky earlier this week, said it stripped Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies of their independence by giving the government more control over their work.
Mr Zelensky said it was necessary to speed up investigations, secure more convictions and remove “Russian influence” from the fight against corruption, although he gave no examples of Russian interference.
On Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy made a sharp about-face, unexpectedly announcing that he had drafted a new anti-corruption bill that would “guarantee a real strengthening of the law and order system in Ukraine”.
“The most important thing is real instruments, the absence of Russian connections and the independence (of the control bodies),” he wrote in a message on Telegram.
The statement appeared to be a response to recent pressure that threatened to undermine public confidence in Ukraine's leaders after more than three years of fighting a full-scale Russian invasion.
The protesters are not calling for Mr Zelensky to resign, but they are the first major anti-government demonstrations since the war began.
“It is important that we remain united,” Mr Zelensky said in his post.
The announcement also left some questions unanswered.
On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky said he had met with the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies and given them two weeks to develop recommendations for improving the corruption law before introducing a new bill to parliament. It is unclear how this attempt to get their opinion will play out.
Despite assurances of new legislation, new street protests were planned for Thursday evening.
The new statement also left it unclear whether Mr Zelensky intended to repeal the law he had approved earlier this week after it passed parliament. He did not provide details of the proposed new law.
The unrest comes at a sensitive moment in the full-scale war that began on February 24, 2022. Russia's larger army is stepping up efforts to break through Ukraine's front lines and intensifying bombing of Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine also faces the question of whether the United States will provide more military aid and whether European commitments can compensate for the weakness as the war shows no end in sight.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of talks in months. However, the talks were again brief and failed to produce a major breakthrough.
Tackling entrenched corruption is crucial to Ukraine's bid to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western war aid. It also enjoys broad public support.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern on Wednesday about the new law, calling it a “serious step backwards.”
Transparency International Ukraine criticized the parliament's decision, saying it undermined one of the most significant reforms since Ukraine's so-called Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and undermined the trust of international partners.
Meanwhile, two women aged 48 and 59 were killed and 14 others were wounded when Russian forces dropped four powerful glide bombs on Konstantinovka, an industrial town in eastern Ukraine, and shelled it with artillery, Donetsk region governor Vadim Filashkin said.
Russian jets also dropped two glide bombs on the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Thursday morning, regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said. Authorities said at least 42 people were injured, including two infants, a 10-year-old girl and two 17-year-olds.
The southern city of Odessa and Cherkasy in central Ukraine were also hit overnight, authorities said. Drone and missile strikes on the cities injured 11 people, including a nine-year-old child, and damaged historic monuments and homes.
Ukraine is seeking to step up its own attacks on Russia with long-range drones, using domestic technology and production.
Two women were killed and 11 people were injured in an overnight attack by Ukrainian drones on Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, local authorities said on Thursday.
Officials said an oil storage facility was hit, without giving details.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
