Ukraine's decisions shouldn't cast doubt on its transparency - Lithuanian FM

VILNIUS - After Ukraine passed a controversial law affecting its anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said on Wednesday that Kyiv's actions should not raise doubts about the transparency of its policies.

"We have to look at the facts about Ukraine with open eyes. According to opinion polls, for Ukrainians, corruption is currently as serious a problem as the ongoing aggression," Budrys told reporters.

"This is a highly sensitive political and societal issue, first and foremost for them. It's also a sensitive issue for us, as it forms the foundation of Ukraine's European integration," he said.

The minister added that transparency is also essential for maintaining Western support.

"There should be no grounds for anyone to doubt the transparency of Ukraine's policies, and our Ukrainian friends should be the first to care about that," he said.

According to the minister, the process of adopting the law was far from smooth.

"Yesterday's developments were truly regrettable and prompted us, as some of Ukraine's closest friends, to remind them that this is a very troubling path," Budrys said.

"The wave of reaction in all circles of the capital shows that things were not handled quite properly, which isn't good," he added.

The bill, signed by Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, grants the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president, new powers over investigations carried out by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and cases handled by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

The Ukrainian parliament approved the legislative amendments earlier on Tuesday.

Critics say the law opens the way for the government to interfere in major anti-corruption cases and effectively removes the independence of the country's two key anti-corruption bodies.

The European Union called the move a "serious step back," and hundreds of people gathered in central Kyiv to protest the measure in a rare show of public anger against the government as Russia's full-scale war continues.

NABU investigates corruption in state institutions, while SAP prosecutes corruption cases.

Over the past decade, Ukraine has stepped up its anti-corruption efforts as part of its drive for EU membership. However, corruption scandals have continued to plague the country, even after Russia's invasion.