End of Ukraine's 'untouchables'? Zelensky faces final choice for Ukraine's anti-corruption future

Ukrainian lawmakers protest with placards reading "No tolerance to corruption in "Ukraine is not Russia 12414 - the number of a bill to be replaced)" (C) and "Hands off NABU (the National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAP (the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office)" (R) as they vote on a bill to replace a law that curbed the powers of anti-graft bodies on July 31, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Andrii Nesterenko / AFP via Getty Images) Corruption is back at the top of the news in Ukraine, and

This achievement is a remarkable victory for the autonomous anti-corruption architecture that we have carefully built since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Andriy Yermak was neither a normal high-ranking bureaucrat nor a regular official. He was the head of the presidential office and was generally considered the country's second-most-powerful man. He handled domestic and foreign policy issues much as President Volodymyr Zelensky himself did. It is very remarkable that independent anti-corruption entities persisted in harboring suspicions towards such a powerful figure, despite facing tremendous pressure and multiple attempts by unreformed institutions to meddle with their operations. With a full-scale invasion ongoing, this kind of event shall be treated as the mark of institutional maturity, showing that no one is "untouchable" in Ukraine , not even the country's second-most-powerful figure. This development did not happen in a vacuum. Ukraine's friends, especially the EU, should be widely recognized by the international community for the framework they helped build. A decade ago, it was sustained EU pressure through reform conditionalities attached to the visa liberalization regime and macrofinancial assistance packages that compelled Ukraine to establish independent anti-corruption bodies in the first place. National Anti-Corruption Bureau ( NABU ) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were the price of closer integration with Europe , and that price has now proven its worth. “The ‘carrot’ of EU integration, which includes things like visa liberalization and the prospect of full membership, has led to many complex but essential changes. The European Union is now more than ever in a position of strength, with the arrival of 90 billion euros ($104.6 billion) in financial aid just around the corner.

Key points

• This achievement is a remarkable victory for the autonomous anti-corruption architecture that we have carefully built since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity.
• Andriy Yermak was neither a normal high-ranking bureaucrat nor a regular official.
• He was the head of the presidential office and was generally considered the country's second-most-powerful man.
• He handled domestic and foreign policy issues much as President Volodymyr Zelensky himself did.
• It is very remarkable that independent anti-corruption entities persisted in harboring suspicions towards such a powerful figure, despite facing tremendous pressure and multiple attempts by unrefor…