Ukraine parliament votes to restore anticorruption agencies after protests

Over in Ukraine, the parliament voted unanimously to restore the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, following mass protests.

The bill was passed on Thursday, during a livestream broadcast of a parliamentary session, with a vote of 331 to 0, reinstating full independence for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The decision nullified amendments passed on July 22 that had placed both agencies under the authority of the prosecutor-general.

The decision led to some of the most significant protests since Russia's 2022 invasion, with thousands of young Ukrainians taking to the streets of Kyiv and other cities demanding retention of democratic norms.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the bill into law just hours after the vote, calling the new legislation a guarantee of "normal, independent work for anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies in our state."