Ukrainian analysts have told Newsweek the move undoes a decade of democratic progress, although its president Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he backed a new draft law aimed at strengthening the independence the anti-corruption institutions. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian president's office and the Kremlin for comment.

The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine has long been a battleground in Ukrainian politics, where graft is rife.

Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to sign a bill targeting the independence of anti-corruption agencies followed pressing investigations that involved high-ranking officials and those close to the president.