KYIV – After a public outcry and pressure from the European Union, a new law is now in force in Ukraine restoring the independence of state agencies investigating corruption.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced this bill after facing his first major domestic political crisis since Russia's full-scale invasion three and a half years ago. He and Ukraine's parliament reversed course after approving a previous bill to place anti-corruption agencies under a Zelenskyy-backed prosecutor.

Thousands of Ukrainians took the streets in protest, calling it an authoritarian move.

"It is very important that the state listens to public opinion and hears its citizens," Zelenskyy said in a video address on Thursday. "Ukraine is a democracy for sure. There is no doubt."

Sarakhan Vadym / AP

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