Zelenskyy faces mass protests, for first time since Russia war began, over changes to anti-corruption agencies

London — In a first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago, widespread protests have taken place across Ukraine — not against Russia or its President Vladimir Putin, but against Ukraine's own President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the country's parliament, the Rada.

Late Tuesday night, Zelenskyy signed a bill into law, after it was fast-tracked through the Rada, that gives Ukraine's prosecutor general (roughly equivalent to the U.S. attorney general), more power over two anti-corruption agencies long known for their fierce independence. The prosecutor general is a political appointee, not an elected official. 

In the hours before Zelenskyy signed the measure, thousands of people in the capital Kyiv, the western city of Lviv, Dnipro in the east and Odessa in the south made their frustration and fear known, defying martial law bans on mass gatherings to come out and protest. Their concern is rooted in the continued autonomy of Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), which for years have sought to combat graft by public officials, regardless of their political affiliation.