The European Union has begun drafting a new set of sanctions against Russia to put more pressure on Putin to take peace talks seriously, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. As the Ukrainians have spent the past five months demonstrating their readiness to negotiate, the Russians have continued their maximalist war goals. Barrot says that the sanctions will be much tougher than the ones recently passed.

 

 

Ukraine and France are preparing to sign a new strategic partnership agreement to deepen defense and production cooperation, in particular with air defense, drones, and missiles, as well as the localization of production in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Additionally, he said at a press conference between him and his French counterpart, a document was signed declaring the intent for cooperation between the two countries in “strategically important sectors, particularly in the fields of critical raw materials, energy, and high technologies.”  

 

On Tuesday, President Zelenskyy signed legislation placing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under the control of Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko. This effectively kills their independence and places them under the control of the President’s office. More specifically, the prosecutor general now has the authority to control SAPO, issue binding instructions to NABU, reassign cases to other prosecutors, and transfer investigations under NABU's jurisdiction to other agencies. The NABU and SAPO were redesignated as regular law enforcement bodies, not special independent ones. 

This is one of the most politically contentious moves Zelenskyy has made during his entire tenure in office. Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) was established after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity as an independent agency targeting high-level corruption. NABU investigates former presidents, parliamentarians, government officials, judges, prosecutors, and National Bank leadership in cases involving large sums of money. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) operates as NABU's partner agency in the judicial system, overseeing investigations and representing the state in court. Both institutions were created at the insistence of international partners. The SAPO was formed in 2015 as part of a Visa agreement with the EU. The NABU and SAPO were designed to be free from political influence and have exclusive jurisdiction over assigned cases.

 

 

On July 21, 2025, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) accused 2 NABU employees of crimes against Ukraine. The SBU arrested Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, the head of NABU's interregional detective units. They allege he helped his father sell industrial hemp to Dagestan. Critics point out that Dagestan isn’t Russia, defenders of the SBU say Dagestan’s ties with Russia are so close, there is a difference without a distinction. Additionally, the SBU says that Mahamedrasulov has ties with Russia’s FSB through MP Fedir Khrystenko, a member of the banned political party Opposition Platform—For Life. They claim Khrstenko himself was an FSB agent who provided Russia with information on NABU investigations. Another NABU employee, Viktor Husarov, was detained on espionage charges. The investigation into him revealed that Dmytro Ivantsov, former deputy head of Viktor Yanukovych's security who helped the Yanukovych flee to Russia in February 2014, served as Husarov’s handler.  Husarov is accused of collecting and transmitting information about Ukrainian law enforcement officers to Russia. The SBU conducted over 70 searches across Ukraine without court warrants. These searches were targeting 15 NABU employees with suspected ties to Russia and were held while NABU and SAPO leadership were out of the country.
 

 

Political scientist Taras Zahorodnii stated that NABU's vulnerability to Russian infiltration resulted from years of operating without proper audits or oversight. He noted that hostile intelligence services target government organizations that operate without much public oversight, making NABU a prime target for the FSB.

After the bill eliminated the independence of the NABU and SAPO, the SBU launched surprise inspections of the NABU and gained access to every secret investigation being performed by NABU and SAPO. The State Bureau of Investigations simultaneously re-opened years-old traffic investigations into NABU employees. Only 2 of the 700 NABU employees have been potentially linked to Russia, while none of the SAPO’s employees have been linked. Kateryna Butko, a representative of AutoMaidan, stated that the new law is unlikely to have any effect on alleged Russian agents. A member of the Ukrainian parliament’s anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, said that evidence provided by the SBU does not back up their claims; for instance, wiretaps claiming to show ties to Russia actually involve calls to Uzbekistan. While agents in Uzbekistan may be acting on Russia’s behalf, apparently the case for that was not made to the anti-corruption committee. 

More than 2,000 protesters gathered outside Zelenskyy’s office as he signed the bill. Hundreds stayed past the midnight curfew. Protesters included veterans and wounded soldiers as well as civilians. Many compared the bill to something that disgraced Russian puppet president Viktor Yanukovych would do. Journalist Danylo Mokryk said the undermining of the NABU and SAPO has "pure Yanukovych vibes." Many protesters noted that the situation feels very similar to the Maidan protests, which chased Yanukovych from power and put Ukraine on the path to becoming a fully independent state. 

 

 

This bill may have been created because of the criminal investigation into former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov for abuse of power and illegal enrichment. Chernyshov was dismissed last week and denies the allegations. Previous reports indicated, however, that Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s most powerful and trusted advisor, approved of this investigation; he allowed this one to progress while intervening and disrupting other investigations. Others have suggested that the investigation into Timur Mindich, co-owner of Zelensky's former Kvartal 95 studio, triggered this creation of the bill. Still others, such as Former Deputy Defense Minister Vitaliy Deynega, suggest it may have been triggered by investigations into the purchase of drones at inflated prices. 

 

 

The Rada passed the bill by 263 votes, with support from Servant of the People, Platform for Life and Peace, Batkivshchyna, Restoration of Ukraine, and For the Future parties. The bill passed with votes from former pro-Russian MPs and Yulia Tymoshenko’s party. NABU director Semen Kryvonos stated that several MPs who voted for the law were suspects in agency investigations.

 

 

The international community has reacted swiftly and negatively to the changes to NABU and SAPO. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President António Costa called Zelenskyy on Tuesday, urging him to reconsider the law. G7 ambassadors met with Ukrainian officials to discuss this new law. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, “Limiting the independence of anti-corruption agencies hampers Ukraine’s way towards the EU.” Jan Lipavsky, the Czech foreign Minister, said that, “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.” The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs said, “The newly adopted law placing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office under the control of the Prosecutor General’s Office raises serious questions about the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities.

 

Transparency International stated Zelenskyy was destroying a decade of anti-corruption progress. Ursula Van Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, contacted Zelenskyy and said the law threatens Ukraine’s EU candidacy and democratic institutions. A spokeswoman for the European Commission said, “The respect for the rule of law and the fight against corruption are core elements of the European Union.  As a candidate country, Ukraine is expected to uphold these standards fully. There cannot be a compromise.” 

 

Both the International Monetary Fund and the EU have, for many years now, made specific reforms to Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies as a requirement for Ukraine to receive additional loans and grants. There were reports that the IMF’s 8th tranche of financial assistance to Ukraine was not guaranteed due to their being uncertainty about whether reforms were happening quickly enough. The European Commission said that current financial aid was not at risk of being suspended, but financial aid is dependent upon government reforms. European Commission Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that financial aid from Europe is “conditional on transparency, judicial reforms [and] democratic governments.”

Statement from Zelenskyy about the bill:

I spoke with the head of NABU, Semen Kryvonos, the SAPO prosecutor, Oleksandr Klymenko, the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk, various challenges. We discussed all of it.

The anti-corruption infrastructure will continue to operate. But only without Russian influence — everything must be cleansed of that. And there must be more justice.

Of course, NABU and SAPO will continue their work. And it’s important that the Prosecutor General is committed to ensuring real inevitability of punishment in Ukraine for those who break the law. That’s exactly what Ukraine needs. Cases that have been shelved must be investigated.

For years, officials who fled Ukraine have somehow been living peacefully abroad — in very comfortable countries and without legal consequences. That’s not normal. There’s no rational explanation for why criminal proceedings worth billions have been “hanging” for years. And there’s no explanation for why Russians are still able to obtain the information they need. It’s essential that Russians are cut off. It’s essential that punishment is inevitable — and that society truly sees this.

Zelenskyy seems to be stating that the NABU and SAPO were insufficient at performing their duties and that they were infiltrated by Russia, and thus needed to be radically redirected.

Thousands of protesters gathered in the street across Ukraine, with many noting that the protests were even larger than they were the previous day.  

 

 

Following the backlash against the anti-corruption bill passed by Zelenskyy, which dissolved the current NABU and the SAPO and folded them into the office of the presidency, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine’s law enforcement and anti-corruption institutions will present a joint plan of action within the next two weeks aimed at strengthening the justice system. A meeting was held between Zelinsky and high-level figures in government, including officials from the NABU and SAPO. In a joint statement by NABU and SAPO after the meeting, they said that this recent legislation undermines their ability to fight corruption and significantly undermines the independence of state institutions. They additionally said that from now on, they are deprived of the guarantee to use what previously allowed them to effectively fulfill their duty in combating high-level corruption. 

 

 

Both agencies stressed that the move must be reversed and require "clear and unambiguous legislative steps” to reinstate the safeguards removed by parliament. "The rule of law and compliance with the law remain unchanged values for NABU and SAPO. We expect the same approach from other law enforcement agencies," the agencies wrote. Later, Zelenskyy announced plans to submit a bill to Parliament that would "ensure the strength of the law enforcement system" and preserve "all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions." Additionally, he emphasized that there will be no Russian influence in Ukrainian government agencies, and that “all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place." However, the Kyiv Independent says there’s no evidence that the new legislation is linked to Russian influence. In an earlier statement, Zelenskyy said that he and everybody around him have heard the concerns from the public, and said their concerns are not in vain. 

 

On July 24, MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported that 48 deputies from different factions registered a bill to restore NABU and SAPO independence in the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. The document aims to reverse the law passed on July 22 that put both anti-corruption agencies under the control of the Prosecutor General's Office. Voting on the new bill could occur as early as July 25. Both NABU and SAPO supported this initiative.

American M739 artillery fuses are in service with the Russian military. They are being provided by Iran and are at least relatively widespread. This one was manufactured in 1988

Ukrainian drones struck the Kamenolomni train station in Rostov Oblast. This train station was a major hub for Russian military logistics and civilian travel. 

Coordinates of the train station:
47.66658,40.19343

The damaged train station.

This is part of a broader campaign of targeting Russian rail hubs in Rostov. In addition to Kamenolomni, Ukraine struck Russian logistics infrastructure in Rostov region, targeting stations at Novocherkassk, and the Likhaya-Zamchalovo rail connection. While footage confirmed strikes on the first two locations, the Zamchalovo hit received less attention despite being strategically significant.

 

The Likhaya junction station operates as a key logistics hub for Russian military operations. The facility has maintained this role since 2014 and continues supplying Russian positions during the current conflict. The station connects four major supply routes: north from the Central and Southern Military Districts through Chertkovo-Millerovo-Stara Ilyenka, northeast of the Central Military District and air defense units via Morozovsk through Vasilyevsky, east from air defense positions at Kuberle-Salsk-Zernove, and south from ports and rear areas through Rostov-Zverevo.

 

Ukraine damaged the Zamchalovo substation at coordinates 48.1375, 40.0852. The strike hit the rail branch connecting Likhaya to Zamchalovo-Gukovo-Dovzhansk, which supplies Russian positions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.  Russia deployed repair equipment to restore the substation, due to the facility’s importance to logistics in the hottest parts of the front. 

Still image from a video showing the attack on Novocherkassk station. 

A Russian milblogger reported that Ukraine has been dropping counterfeit rubles in minefields in the Kherson area.

A handful of fake rubles recovered from a minefield.

A Ukrainian Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed due to a "failure of aviation equipment." The pilot managed to eject and was recovered. He is in a “stable” condition.

The pilot parachuting to safety. 

Azerbaijan‘s government has named the person they served to be responsible for shooting down Azerbaijan Airlines flight number 8432. The plane was an Embraer ERJ-190 flying from Baku to Grozny. The plane's guidance system was confused by Russia’s electronic warfare systems operating in the area, and then it was fired upon by a Pantsir air defense system. The crash killed 38 people, 23 of whom were citizens of Azerbaijan, 7 were Russian, and 6 were Kazakh citizens. Russia tried to deny involvement, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Dmitry Sergeevich Paladychuk, commander of the No. 274 squadron, is the man Azerbaijan named as being responsible for the attack on the plane. 

 

 

Ukraine managed to track Russian drone operators back to a headquarters in Glushkovo, Kursk region, and strike the building with a GBU-62 JDAM-ER guided bomb. 

Coordinates of the building that was hit. 51.34551, 34.64577

The building that was hit. 

Quote of the Day:

“'Cause if you liked it, then you shoulda put a hedgehog on it

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a hedgehog on it

Don’t be mad once you see that he want it

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a hedgehog on it”

-Beyonce