EU welcomes reversal as essential to European support for Ukraine; US announces US$330m in further military sales. What we know on day 1,248
The Ukrainian anti-corruption body, Nabu, said a new bill submitted to parliament on Thursday “restores all procedural powers and guarantees of independence of the Nabu and Sapo”. Nabu investigates corruption cases and Sapo prosecutes them. A Nabu statement said both agencies took part in the preparation of the new law and they urged the parliament “to adopt the president’s initiative … in its entirety as soon as possible. This will prevent threats to criminal proceedings brought by the Nabu and the Sapo.”
The EU welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s move to reinstate the independence of the anti-corruption agencies after the shock adoption this week of a bill that stripped their autonomy. After protests on the streets and from international allies of Ukraine, the Ukrainian president said the further bill would ensure the rule of law and the independence of the anti-corruption agencies. An EU spokesperson said: “We provide significant financial support to Ukraine and this is conditional to progress and transparency, judicial reform and democratic governance.” Those points were reinforced by European leaders with whom Zelenskyy consulted over the crisis, including Ursula von der Leyen, Friedrich Merz of Germany and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer.
