Ukraine belongs to Europe but our support isn't carte blanche for any government actions - Czech FM

The fight against corruption is a vital part of Ukraine's path to EU accession, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky has stressed.

"We are closely following the situation in Ukraine. Fighting corruption is a vital part of the EU accession path. Ukraine belongs in Europe and our support goes to its people. But our support has never been and will never be a blank cheque for any actions of the government. I reminded Minister @andrii_sybiha of that today," he said on X on Wednesday.

As reported, on July 22, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in its entirety the law "On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Peculiarities of Pre-Trial Investigation of Criminal Offenses Related to the Disappearance of Persons Missing in Special Circumstances During Martial Law" with 263 votes, with amendments that limited the independence of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor Office (SAPO).

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, immediately signed the law and sent it to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for signature, while under normal practice this happens after consideration of blocking resolutions submitted by opponents. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed it on the same day.

A number of politicians and public figures, as well as representatives of the European Commission, spoke out categorically against this bill and called on Zelenskyy to veto it.

Protest actions against the bill adopted by the Verkhovna Rada were held in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro and Rivne on Tuesday evening.