Mass protests against the law limiting the independence of NABU and SAP were taking place in Kyiv and other cities

Yeasterday in Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro, protests were held against the draft law No. 12414 adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, which, according to activists, undermines the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

About a thousand protesters gathered in central Kyiv, reports UNIAN. Participants held signs reading "No to corruption in power!" and chanted "Hands off NABU!", "We demand a veto!", and "Shame!".

Protest actions also took place in other cities. For example, in Dnipro.

In Lviv, more than a thousand people gathered near the Shevchenko monument, many of them students.

The reason for the protests was the July 22 vote, when the Verkhovna Rada passed draft law No. 12414. The document provides for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and concerns, in particular, the specifics of pre-trial investigations under martial law.

The greatest outrage was caused by the amendments granting the Prosecutor General expanded powers: he will be able to effectively manage SAP, delegate its powers to other prosecutors, give NABU binding written instructions, seize case materials, and transfer them to other agencies. Activists believe this creates a dangerous precedent of manual control over the anti-corruption system, which contradicts european standards and Ukraine's obligations to international partners. They demanded that president Volodymyr Zelensky veto this law.