Anti-Corruption Action Center head Vitaliy Shabunin, arrested by Ukraine authorities, attends a session at a Kyiv court on July 15, 2025 (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine/Getty)

Monday’s Coverage: Russia Restates Ultimata for Kyiv’s Surrender

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1351 GMT:

The European Union is “concerned” about the Ukraine Parliament’s amendments curbing the independence of anti-corruption agencies.

European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said:

These institutions are crucial to Ukraine’s reform agenda and must operate in an independent way to fight corruption and maintain public trust.

The EU provides significant financial assistance to Ukraine, conditional on progress in transparency, judicial reform, and democratic governance. Ukraine’s accession will require a strong capacity to combat corruption and to ensure institutional resilience.

UPDATE 1325 GMT:

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have charged a senior officer of the State security service SBU and two accomplices with extorting a $300,000 bribe.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said the SBU officer, who worked in the Department for the Protection of National Statehood, demanded payment from a person under investigation for organizing illegal border crossings for military-age men during wartime.

In exchange, the officer reportedly promised to destroy case materials and suppress facts. When the individual refused, the suspects allegedly threatened to pursue harsher charges that could lead to criminal prosecution.

Authorities said the suspects were caught after receiving a partial payment of $72,000.

The officer faces up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of assets.

UPDATE 1057 GMT:

Ukraine’s Parliament has approved amendments curbing the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

The legislation grants the Prosecutor General new powers over investigations led by the two bodies. It passed 263-13, with 13 abstentions.

The Prosecutor General can now issue directions for NABU’s investigations, reassign them outside the agency, or close them at the request of defense attorneys. SAPO’s powers can be given to other prosecutors.

The changes would amount to the “destruction of NABU and SAPO’s independence and practically subordinate their activities to the Prosecutor General,” NABU said in a statement ahead of the vote.

UPDATE 1051 GMT:

The Kremlin is indicating that it will not ease its ultimata in Wednesday’s talks with Ukraine.

“There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles – it is hardly possible in the current situation,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. “We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.“

Peskov also rejected Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a face-to-face discussion with Vladimir Putin: “There is a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings.”

UPDATE 0940 GMT:

Ambassadors to Ukraine of the G7 countries — France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, the UK and the US — have expressed their concerns over raids by the State security service on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau:

We all have a shared commitment to support transparency, independent institutions, and good governance, and we value our partnerships in Ukraine to combat corruption together.

Transparency International Ukraine added, “The recent coordinated actions of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the State Bureau of Investigation point to an attempt by the authorities to undermine the independence of Ukraine’s post-Revolution of Dignity anti-corruption institutions.”

They challenged draft Government legislation, “These changes essentially impose censorship on journalists, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens when reporting on court cases.”

UPDATE 0832 GMT:

Ukraine received substantial pledges of assistance from partners at the Ramstein Group meeting in Germany on Monday.

Confirming the announcement of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Ukraine counterpart Denys Shmyhal said the US is selling five Patriot air defense systems to the Germans, who will then deliver them to Kyiv.

Germany is providing 200,000 rounds for Gepard anti-aircraft guns and financing the procurement of long-range drones by Ukraine.

Canada is providing C$20 million ($14.6 million) for tank maintenance and support. The Netherlands is giving €200 million ($234 million) for drone interceptors and €125 million ($145 million) for support of F-16 fighter jets.

Norway has commited €1 billion ($1.17 billion) for drones in 2025 and €400 million ($468 million) for Ukrainian production.

UPDATE 0802 GMT:

At least three civilians, including a child, have been murdered and 45 injured by Russian attacks over the past day.

Air defenses downed 26 of 42 drones launched by Russia overnight, and seven were lost to electronic counter-measures.

The three fatalities were in the Donetsk region in the east. The 5-year-old child was killed and eight people injured in a guided bomb strike on a residential building in Kramatorsk.

In the Sumy region in the northeast, drone and air strikes injured at least 15 civilians. Houses, apartment buildings, vehicles, and a shopping center were damaged.

Casualties were also reported in the Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa regions.

UPDATE 0754 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says the third round of talks with Russia will take place in Istanbul on Wednesday.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said, “Today I discussed with [Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council] Rustem Umerov the preparation of [prisoner] exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side.

He said details will be given Tuesday, but he has put a priority on the POW swap, the return of deported Ukrainian children from Russia, and a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

“The agenda from our side is clear,” Zelensky posted. “It is clear to all that truly effective talks can only take place at the level of national leaders.”

UPDATE 0706 GMT:

Eleven civilians, including a 5-year-old boy, were injured by Russian drone strikes on the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine on Monday night.

Three civilians were killed and 12 wounded in the Donetsk region over the past day.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s state security service SBU has raided the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which investigates high-level cases.

Working with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Investigation Bureau, the SBU conducted at least 70 searches in premises connected to NABU on Monday, targeting at least 15 staff.

The SBU said one of the officials has been arrested as a suspected Russian spy and others for alleged ties to a banned party.

NABU and its supporters warn that Ukrainian authorities are trying to curb inquiries and to bring independent anti-corruption institutions under government control. They said the “vast majority” of cases cited by the SBU involve unrelated allegations such as years-old traffic accidents.

“The special operation has all signs of an attempt to dismantle the anti-corruption infrastructure,” said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center. “We are witnessing a decade of anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine being dismantled. This is a 180-degree turn away from European integration.”

The European Union has emphasized that anti-corruption measures and institutions, good governance, and a transparent judicial process are all conditions of any Ukrainian accession to the 27-nation bloc.

The head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Vitaliy Shabunin, was charged on July 11 with evasion of military service and fraud. Shabunin says the charges are a political vendetta against his work.

NABU said the searches had been conducted without search warrants. The SBU insisted that raids without warrants are legal in investigations targeting “links to Russia”.

The searches began as NABU head Semen Kryvonos and Chief Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko were in the UK on a work trip. Hearing of the raids, they rushed back to Ukraine.

A A source at NABU said of Monday’s raids:

They reopened cases that are years old. The scale and brazenness of it all point clearly to a government-ordered campaign….This is preparatory fire aimed at launching some major changes in the bureau.

The Prosecutor General’s Office declined to comment, and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office and the State Investigation Bureau did not respond to requests.

Government Crackdown on Anti-Corruption Efforts?

Critics says the crackdown is allied with the Zelensky Government’s efforts to pass a bill providing de facto amnesty for corruption in the defense industry.

During Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s resistance has been shaken by corruption within the military and corporate sectors. In 2023 embezzlement and misappropriation of millions of dollars, over procurement of military catering services and electric generators, led to the arrests of high-level officials and the resignation of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

In April, charges were filed against a former department head at the Defense Ministry, an owner of supplier companies, two heads of supplier companies, and another individual over the embezzlement of $17.7 million and attempts to embezzle $19 million.

But the appointment of Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, the head of a detective unit at NABU, to lead the economic crimes agency, the Bureau of Economic Security, has been blocked.

The government claimed Tsyvinsky’s connections to Russia had been revealed in a letter from the SBU. Tsyvinsky’s estranged father lives in Russia and holds a Russian passport.

Tsyvinsky said the government was using “manipulative” security concerns.

The Bureau of Economic Security, established in 2021, has been widely criticized for being ineffective and, at times, being used as a tool to put pressure on select businesses.