By Dan Peleschuk
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday are expected to consider a bill restoring the independence of the country's two main anti-corruption agencies, aiming to defuse a political crisis that has shaken faith in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's wartime leadership.
Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent after lawmakers led by Zelenskiy's ruling party rushed through amendments last week defanging the respected agencies.
Zelenskiy reversed course after the outcry and under pressure from top European officials, who warned Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for EU membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities.
Demonstrations had continued even after he submitted the new bill restoring their independence, with hundreds rallying near the presidential administration in Kyiv late on Wednesday to chants of "Shame!" and "The people are the power!".
"I really want parliament to vote (for the new measure) just as quickly as it did last time," said protester Kateryna Kononenko, 36, referring to last week's fast-tracked approval of the controversial amendments.
Activists also called for demonstrations near parliament ahead of Thursday's vote in an attempt to pressure lawmakers to approve the new bill.
Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the EU, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion.
Last week's amendments had given Zelenskiy's hand-picked general prosecutor the power to transfer cases away from the anti-graft agencies and reassign prosecutors - a step critics had said was designed to protect allies from prosecution.
While much smaller, the rallies of the past week have sparked comparisons to Ukraine's 2014 Maidan revolution, when protesters toppled a president they accused of corruption and heavy-handed rule.
More than two-thirds of Ukrainians support the recent protests, according to a recent survey by Ukrainian pollster Gradus Research.
CORRUPTION FIGHTERS
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have stepped up a closely watched campaign against graft since Russia's February 2022 invasion.
They have produced charges against lawmakers and senior government officials, including a then-deputy prime minister who was accused last month of taking a $345,000 kickback.
Speaking to Reuters last Friday, after Zelenskiy's reversal, NABU chief Semen Kryvonos said he expected pressure against his agency to continue, fuelled by what he described as corrupt forces uninterested in cleaning up Ukraine.
He added that he and other anti-corruption officials felt a greater sense of responsibility following the protests, but also called on the country's leadership to help their effort.
"This responsibility must be shared with the government, which needs to react and say, 'Okay, there's corruption here - let's destroy it.'"
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
