People in Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa took to the streets to protest the adoption of bill No. 12414 by the Ukrainian Parliament. It restricts the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), reports Suspilne.

On 22 July, the parliament approved bill No. 12414, which introduces changes to the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the pre-trial investigation of cases related to enforced disappearances under martial law conditions.

According to Ukrainian deputy Anastasiia Radina, amendments were added at the last moment that “turn SAPO into a decorative institution and make the activities of NABU and SAPO fully dependent on the will of the Prosecutor General.”

The bill provides that:

• The Prosecutor General gains access to all NABU cases or can grant such access to any other prosecutor.
• The Prosecutor General can issue mandatory written instructions to NABU detectives and, if they are not followed, can change jurisdiction by transferring cases to other agencies,
• Has the right to close investigations at the request of the defense,
• Independently resolves jurisdiction disputes,
• Signs notes of suspicion against high-ranking officials personally.

The head of SAPO loses the right to participate in prosecutor groups, as this is decided solely by the Prosecutor General, Hromadske reports. 

In Lviv, people gathered near the Taras Shevchenko monument to protest against the law. Co-organizer Justyna Moyseev said initially 30 people registered for the protest, but the expected number grew, and is expected to reach 100.

During the protest, people chanted slogans such as “Hands off NABU,” “Change or die,” and “Corruption is the death of the future.”

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“One must always remember that the Ukrainian people stand together primarily because we want victory, peace, and to move toward the EU. Only for this reason do Ukrainians endure and do not want to cause trouble. But it seems the authorities are forgetting this a little. We want to remind them,” said one Lviv protester, Roman Schmidt.

Residents of Dnipro also joined the protest. Participant Anna stressed that she does not support the adoption of this bill.

“This directly affects the fact that corruption in the country will most likely flourish, and that’s not okay. They won’t be independent,” she said. 

A similar protest gathered in Odesa, where people called on the president not to sign the bill, chanting “Protect democratic institutions.” 

Kyiv is also protesting against the bill. People are carrying posters reading “People’s wrath is scarier than NABU and SAPO,” “Money hates silence,” “No to the destruction of the anti-corruption system.”

She was killed to be silenced. On July 19, in Lviv, Ukrainians marked the first anniversary of the death of Iryna Farion. She was a prominent linguist, scholar, politician, and symbol of the fight for Ukrainian identity, UkrInform reports.

Her murder in Lviv in 2023 at the age of 60 is seen not merely as a criminal act but as part of Russia’s hybrid war.

“The enemy is trying to use every tool to divide our nation,” said Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, following her death.

The attack on Farion is also regarded as a psychological attempt to intimidate its most courageous Ukrainian voices.

A year after the assassination, her family, colleagues, students, and community members gathered for a memorial service at the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church. Later, a procession made its way to Lychakiv Cemetery, where Farion is buried.

People will also assemble in silence in the courtyard on Masaryk Street, where she was killed, at 7:22 PM, the exact moment the fatal shot was fired one year ago. 

Farion’s daughter, Sofiia Osoba, left a powerful message on Instagram.

“A year. What is it like to live without Mom?.. I am an orphan. Ukraine is orphaned… I don’t want 19 July… This is the end of everything. 23:20. The end of your life. Now, it will be years,” she wrote.

Six days after the murder, Ukrainian law enforcement detained the suspect, 19-year-old Dnipro resident Vyacheslav Zinchenko. The court trial is currently ongoing.

In the wee hours of 12 July, Russia struck the west-Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi. East-Ukrainian Kharkiv was also affected.

The attack comes one day after Russia’s record aerial missile attack on Kyiv as President Zelenskyy warns that Russia is ramping up its capacities to launch up to 1000 Shahed kamikaze drones at Ukraine daily.

The attack involved 597 drones (339 of them were Shahed kamikaze drones, the rest — imitator drones) and 26 cruise missiles, the air force reported. 319 Shaheds and 25 cruise missiles were reported downed.

The drone attack lasted 11 hours, while the missile attack started at 3:34 and lasted 1.5 hours, according to the monitor TG channel.

A 26-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were killed in Chernivtsi due to falling drone wreckage, which has seen relatively few attacks since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Lviv, another relatively safe haven, has also come under the brunt of Russia’s escalating attacks. 46 buildings were damaged, and 500 windows smashed in an attack that also damaged the Lviv Polytechnic University.

A private house was destroyed in Lviv; cars also suffered damage.

Poland scrambles jets, but no help to Ukraine

The attack forced Poland to scramble its military aircraft overnight, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command reported.

Poland has previously scrambled its jets in response to Russia’s attacks on western Ukraine, as it is standard procedure for Poland’s military to scramble jets and increase the readiness of air defense systems when “there is a danger of Russian air strikes on western Ukraine and potential assumptions that [the] border of Poland might be impacted.|

Throughout the war, Russian missiles and attack drones have repeatedly infringed the airspace of Romania, Latvia, Poland, and other NATO members, with Ukraine asking EU and NATO ministers in late August 2024 to start shooting down Russian missiles and drones heading toward NATO over Ukraine.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has stated that his and other countries have a duty to intercept Russian missiles before they enter NATO territory, though NATO maintains it “will not become a party to the conflict.”