Controversial bill risks undermining Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions, MP warns

She made this statement from the floor of the Verkhovna Rada, as reported by MP Oleksii Honcharenko’s livestream.

Commenting on bill No. 12414, which proposes changes to Ukraine's Criminal Code and is scheduled for consideration in the Rada today, Herashchenko said she believes the experiment with “new faces” has ended in failure and poses huge threats — not only to the country but also to democracy, freedom of speech, anti-corruption institutions, human rights, and more.

“Today, in this chamber, there is a huge risk that the backbone of the anti-corruption infrastructure built by our team will be broken. This will create enormous threats to visa-free travel and the Ukraine Facility. And this will not be the first reform to be broken. I remind you how, amid complete public silence, the Servant of the People party, together with their friends from Opposition Platform — For Life party, broke the decentralization reform and other reforms. It’s clear that if we remain silent and continue to keep the country trapped in a corrupt information telethon, next they will come after all of you. Don’t think you can break free from this vicious circle,” the MP said.

She stressed that extrajudicial searches must end, as they are unacceptable for a country aiming to join the EU and NATO.

“But I want to emphasize that today, a huge responsibility lies with each of you to consider what will happen after your vote on this attempt to destroy the anti-corruption infrastructure. No matter how imperfect it is — and often it chased small fish instead of the big ones — this is practically the only institution left independent from the Presidential Office,” she concluded.

• Mykhailo Zhernakov, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the DEJURE Foundation, has warned that corrupt Ukrainian officials are undermining the state from within.