Ukraine’s anti-graft chief warns of continued resistance

Ukraine's top anti-corruption official says efforts to weaken his agency will continue, despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reversing a controversial law that sparked public outcry and EU concern.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption campaign remains under threat, according to Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), who said on Friday that “attempts to destroy” the independence of his agency are far from over.

His remarks followed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unexpected reversal of legislation that would have curbed the autonomy of NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), prompting rare street protests during wartime. Thousands rallied in Kyiv and other cities after parliament fast-tracked the bill, which gave a Zelenskyy-appointed general prosecutor control over both bodies.

"This was a shock for me – how much demand had built up to destroy us," Kryvonos told Reuters in Kyiv, calling the move a coordinated attempt to “ruin our independence.” He did not name specific figures behind the push, only referring to “various representatives of the government, various financial groups.”

On Thursday, Zelenskyy submitted new legislation to restore NABU and SAPO’s independence, an effort widely seen as damage control to prevent further erosion of public trust and to preserve Kyiv’s alignment with European Union standards. The bill will be debated in a special parliamentary session next week.

But Kryvonos warned that opponents are likely to escalate efforts to discredit the agency, including what he called a “dirty information campaign” on anonymous Telegram channels that paint NABU as ineffective.

He added that a recent crackdown on his agency – including the arrest of two NABU officials for alleged ties to Russia and searches targeting nearly 20 employees – was triggered by the bureau’s high-profile investigations.

“These events were a result of systemic work by NABU and SAPO, especially over the past half-year,” Kryvonos said. He confirmed receiving “a huge amount” of threats.

NABU and SAPO were formed in the aftermath of Ukraine’s 2014 revolution, with backing from Western partners to tackle entrenched corruption. Their work is viewed as crucial to Ukraine’s EU accession efforts and its post-Soviet reform agenda.

The agencies have brought charges against sitting lawmakers and government officials. One of the latest cases involves a then deputy prime minister accused of accepting a $345,000 bribe, while another exposed a major real estate fraud scheme in Kyiv.

The legislation Zelenskyy was forced to retract had won support across much of the political spectrum – from members of his own Servant of the People party to opposition lawmakers and remnants of pro-Russian factions.

Kryvonos cautioned that political elites still see anti-corruption bodies as a threat. “They need to stop considering us as enemies,” he said, “and accept us as an important part of state institutions.”

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