Why Ukrainians took to the streets over anti-corruption bodies
An analysis of the protests that followed the law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
What turned a legislative decision into the largest anti-government protest in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion? By 25 July 2025, three days after the law was signed, demonstrations were continuing across the country.
The law at the centre
On 22 July 2025, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law placing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) under the Prosecutor General. Despite calls to veto it, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law the same day. As reported at the time, it allowed general control over both bodies, and protests broke out nationwide.
A protest of unusual scale
The demonstrations were described as the largest anti-government protests since the 2022 invasion. Later background says that from 22 to 31 July 2025 people gathered in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro and other cities. Participants carried handmade posters, which gave the movement the names Cardboard protests and Cardboard Maidan. Those labels came later, as the protests unfolded.
What it meant
The issue was who controls the institutions investigating and prosecuting corruption. Placing the two bodies under the Prosecutor General was the change that drew public anger, and the signature of the president, despite calls for a veto, became the focus of the protests. By 25 July the dispute had moved from parliament to the streets of many cities, showing how closely public attention was tied to the independence of these bodies.
