Lithuanian foreign minister calls on Ukraine to stay the course on anti-corruption reforms

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has called the Verkhovna Rada's (Ukrainian Parliament) move to limit the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) a mistake and urged Kyiv to stay on track.

"Dear Ukrainian friends, Lithuania wishes you well. That’s why we encourage you to not stick to this big mistake that could derail your country from the path of progress. Independence of anti-corruption bodies is essential. The point is not in the details and nuances, but in the very principle of independence from politicians, which is either there or it is not," Budrys wrote on X.

He added that his nation "has come decades in the fight against corruption, and it is not over yet".

"We have not succeeded in everything, and there are countless reasons for this. But the lesson of our success is very clear: this fight needs not only politicians willing to change, clean officers, prosecutors with a strong backbone, but also independent, strong and specialised anti-corruption institutions," Budrys remarked.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron intend to hold in-depth discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding measures to combat corruption.

On the evening of 23 July, Zelenskyy commented on the outrage expressed by the public and Ukraine’s international partners over actions targeting anti-corruption institutions, promising to submit his own draft law to guarantee their independence.

The G7 ambassadors have welcomed Zelenskyy's promise to restore the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies and offered their assistance in this regard.