On Friday, 14 November, Poland’s Donald Tusk warned Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky that weakening or eliminating independent anti‑corruption agencies would have fatal consequences, insisting that tolerating corruption would mean losing the war.
Donald Tusk warns Zelensky about consequences of stripping anti‑corruption bodies
On Friday 14 November, Tusk said that if Ukraine dismantles or removes authority from its National Anti‑corruption Bureau, the outcome would be fatal for the country.
He added that the Ukrainian government appears committed to pursuing corruption charges against officials, but inaction would carry a huge cost.
Tusk urges Ukrainian decision‑makers to resist corruption
During the same press conference, Tusk called on Ukrainian officials who have influence on the matter to guard against corruption and reject a “Russian model.”
He warned that tolerating such events would mean losing the war.
Zelensky pushes to eliminate independent anti‑corruption agencies
On 22 July, the Ukrainian High Council passed a law placing the General National Anti‑corruption Bureau and the Special Anti‑corruption Prosecutor’s Office under the Prosecutor General, effectively ending their independence.
Earlier in the year, the bureau had charged former deputy prime minister and minister of national unity Oleksiy Chernyshev, a close friend of the Zelensky family, with corruption.