Russia is also using the ongoing internal protests in Ukraine as a weapon to undermine Ukraine’s legitimacy and discourage Western support.
The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) adopted Bill No. 12414 on July 22, which subordinates Ukraine’s two main anti-corruption agencies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) – to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.
This is according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill into law later in the evening of July 22.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office conducted a raid on the NABU offices in July 21 as part of investigations into officials suspected of collaborating with Russia. Previously, the NABU had launched investigations against SBU officials for extortion.
Ukrainians held protests in multiple major cities, citing concerns about the ability of the NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office to act independently of government influence.
Zelensky said that Law No. 12414 was necessary to ensure that Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies could function without Russian influence, and that he would soon propose to the Verkhovna Rada bills supporting the independent operations of the NABU and the SAP.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on July 23, for example, that Ukrainian authorities had stolen a significant amount of money from the United States and the European Union (EU).
Deputies of the Russian State Duma and pro-Kremlin mouthpieces presented the protests in Ukraine as Ukrainians protesting the continuation of the war, the government in general, and Zelensky specifically; that the Ukrainian government is corrupt; and that the law is intended to protect Ukrainian officials who have embezzled Western funds intended for military aid.
Some of these Russian figures argued that the West should "change" Zelensky - long-standing Kremlin demands.
The majority of U.S. funds allocated to Ukraine are spent in the United States, not in Ukraine.
Much of the U.S. and European military aid to Ukraine funds war-related activities, including training Ukrainian forces and intelligence support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine.
Russian allegations of corruption in Ukraine are intended to exploit ongoing political discussions and deter further Western aid to Ukraine.
The ongoing Ukrainian protests are not anti-war demonstrations, but Russian commentators are trying to portray them as protests against Zelensky and Ukraine's military efforts in order to achieve informational effects that will generate benefits for Russian forces on the battlefield.
The Kremlin has already tried to exploit them to sow or exacerbate divisions between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe, with the aim of undermining the West's willingness to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine and thereby reducing Ukraine's ability to defend itself.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met on July 23 in Istanbul for the third round of bilateral talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on July 23 authorizing Ukrainian political and military officials to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine during the bilateral talks.
The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, led the Ukrainian delegation, while Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to the Russian president, led the Russian delegation.
The Russian delegation was composed of the same representatives as at the talks in Istanbul in May and June 2025. The Ukrainian delegation stressed its focus on the return of prisoners of war, as well as deported Ukrainian children, and the need for a meeting between Zelensky and the presidents of the United States, Turkey, and Russia, Donald Trump, Recep Erdogan, and Vladimir Putin, to move to more substantive talks to end the war.
ISW will report more on the Ukrainian-Russian talks in its July 24 update as it awaits further information.
The Kremlin authorities continue to undermine the negotiation process while reaffirming Russia’s commitment to achieving its original military goals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on July 23 that Russia would achieve all of its goals in Ukraine — likely referring to Russia’s original military goals, including regime change in Ukraine, changes to NATO’s open door policy, and reducing Ukraine’s military forces so that it cannot defend itself.
Putin signed a decree on July 23 authorizing the Federal Security Service (FSB) to create autonomous pre-trial detention centers (SIZOs) to hold individuals accused of crimes under the FSB’s jurisdiction.
The decree will take effect on January 1, 2026. The FSB is responsible, among other things, for patrolling Russia’s borders and performing law enforcement functions in Russia, suggesting that the FSB could use its new powers to target Russian citizens who are trying to evade military registration or desert from the Russian army. ISW has monitored reports that the FSB is using various existing SIZO facilities to mistreat and torture Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.
Putin’s expansion of the FSB’s powers is in line with the Kremlin’s broader strategy to diversify its security apparatus in order to tighten control over the Russian population. In recent years, the Kremlin has implemented measures to expand the powers of both the FSB and the Rosgvardia to detain and punish people both in Russia and in occupied Ukraine.