this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025
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Last week, we warned of a coming anti-democratic backslide. Now, we see it happening.

Under the new law, the prosecutor general, a notoriously non-independent figure, will now oversee anti-corruption investigations — in a complete overturn of the system that was set up to be independent from other law enforcement bodies.

In reality, it means that Zelensky’s office will be able to stop investigations with a phone call.

It also closely follows an escalated prosecution of Ukraine’s best-known anti-corruption activist, an outspoken critic of Zelensky.

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[–] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 40 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Before you straight up downvote this after reading just the headline you should know that Kyiv Independent is highly credible and staffed with reputable journalists.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/kyiv-independent-bias/ (not that I personally think MBFC is a reputable references, but the people who would downvote this, for the most part, do)

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 34 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

For those out of the loop, KyivIndependent is a heavily Western leaning pro-Ukraine news outlet.

[–] Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wow the Ukraine media is pro ukraine? Who'd've thought?

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 months ago

Tsar, you say?

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

lemmy's "general interest" instances are filled with title-only-reacting redditors and it shows.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Hey, they also react on who post this and the source, when the same info just with way less inflammatory headline was posted by someone who is not western shill from something that isn't just CIA media front, it was like -30 votes lol.

Also, it's starting, Zelensky's getting demythologised by even western aligned media prior to his inevitable downfall. Just like us commies said long ago, but libs were frothing at mouth then.

[–] Grapho@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They're still frothing at the mouth, they're just changing targets. Libs are doing mental warmups for the incredible gymnastics they're gonna have to pull off to pretend that this was unforeseen and tAnKiEs got it all wrong anyway.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 months ago

Libs traditionally tailing imperial media into being against every war but the current one.

[–] kamenlady@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

We have redditors among us?

True, sometimes whole threads in a heated discussion, that revolves around assumptions they have about the title.

Hold your horses, at least skim over the article, fucking redditors /s

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This is an editorial though, it has nothing to do with their journalists.

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Editorial by The Kyiv Independent. That is their jounalists.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works -4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

So, unnamed journalists, or perhaps the owner, or...? No leader is perfect, but wartime and holding your own against Putin is no easy feat. You could do 1000x worse than him and now you're nitpicking during war time? I guess I'm jealous that you feel like you can when our trainwreck is still building concentration camps to enrich his buddies.

The last few lines are getting closer,

Ukraine’s democracy can still be salvaged. In peacetime, that responsibility would fall on the Ukrainian people.

But today, Ukrainians are fighting — and dying — for Europe and the whole free world.

Will the West hold the line for them?

[–] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

perhaps the owner

The independent is journalist owned, afaik.

[–] limer@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago

The Ukrainian revolution had from the very start an anti corruption message. Politicians have both taken advantage and undermined it. This week is not unexpected. Zelenskyy backtracking today is not unexpected. Him using smoke and mirrors, in his new idea, to avoid undermining political allies will not be unexpected next month.

It is utterly predictable that this newspaper will issue similar editorial later.

One day there will be not so much corruption in the life blood of Ukrainian politics. But not soon. Maybe in a generation?

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

yeah I sorta wish the news communities did not allow editorials. I mean im pretty sure they would not allow people to just post about their opinion of some news.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't mind editorials with a name or names behind them because you then look them up and see what kind of intentions they have. This is no bueno.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

meh. I feel an editorial is like our comments on a news article. I sorta wish we could seperate news items and editorials.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I can see that, but I disagree. If Bernie Sanders wrote an editorial about cleaning up politics, I would want to read that. I probably wouldn't want to read about /u/ilovetits's take on it.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 2 months ago

Separating news and editorial would not stop that though. You would just read it in an editorial community rather than a news one.

[–] Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I’m just surprised (well not really surprised, disappointed) that it took this long to resume reporting on one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It was well known that corruption had reached obscene levels in Ukraine, until they were invaded; Then seemingly everyone forgot.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 19 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Then seemingly everyone forgot.

No, western media (and aligned to them) just hushed all mentions of corruption in Ukraine, or else someone might ask why they are sending so much money and weapons to such corrupted country. Now when the money stream dies off and USA is preparing to pivot from Ukraine to Asia, western media are again allowed to express criticism toward Ukraine.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world -4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Because they paid for them, why do so many people think these weapons deals are charity.... They're paying for them and the payments are either for trade agreements or seized Russian assets dispersed to the country Russia is currently invading.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

It just doesn't really matter right now, do you have a credible claim of corruption that is more urgent then the need for Ukraine to not be annexed? No then what's your point and why can't it be solved when they don't have literal murderous invaders wandering about.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 months ago

Ukraine's what now?

[–] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

lol is Ukraine gonna get coup'd by the west once again?

[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Third(fourth? dunno) time is the charm.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

1991, 2004, 2014, 2019+, they need to be couped every decade to keep russophobia high.

[–] vfreire85@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

so he's being discarded after doing west's dirty job (and not even finishing it)? boy, saddam hussein and noriega are laughing right now in hell, saying "at least they gave us a little bit more time".

[–] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 2 months ago

Its kinda funny because those guys turned against the US while zelensky has been a loyal dog lmao.

[–] bizzle@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Corrupt, Independent Ukraine is still preferable to Russian Puppet "Ukraine"

[–] Sandouq_Dyatha@lemmy.ml 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] bizzle@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Even "Ostensibly Independent Ukraine" is probably better than "Subjugated Russian Vassal State Ukraine"

[–] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Yes they're awful, but they're our awful guys amirite.

[–] Samsuma@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago

this but the euros are unironic about it:

Poland once threw its doors open to millions of Ukrainian refugees, but the mood has shifted

Poland has begun to deport Ukrainian refugees

the "our European [read: white] brothers/sisters" shtick is tearing apart.

[–] Sandouq_Dyatha@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 months ago

they subjugated vessal.
our ostensibly independent ukraine.

[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago

Westerners really don't care what Ukrainians think, do they?

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

But is it worth dying for?

[–] Samsuma@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

It's a sacrifice that Europeans that aren't Ukrainians in Ukraine are willing to make.

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I am not sure if you realize how Ukrainians "join the military".

[–] Samsuma@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago

I am aware, it ranges between stealing of passports and kidnapping, libs refer to them as "unconventional tactics", anyone with a working conscience refers to them as no less than bloodthirsty Western meatgrinder operations.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world -3 points 2 months ago

Sadly I think this was bound to happen. Zelenskyy has been not only fighting the physical war with Russia but also a prolonged propaganda war and the measures he's used to fight against the mass of disinformation flowing out of Putin's bullshit machine were bound to be corrupt by their very nature. You can see the paranoia that has set in as he was not only attacked by the east but now with Trump in office, he started getting it from the west as well. I fear that it's only going to be downhill from here.