Anti-anti-corruption? A bill in Ukraine sparks protests
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
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Summary
A new bill threatening the independence of anti-corruption agencies has brought Ukrainians onto the streets and rattled international observers. London’s electric bikes are making it ever more a cycling city—and plugging longstanding transport gaps. And a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who did perhaps more than anyone to found the genre of heavy metal.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist |
| 0:02.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:11.0 | I'm Rosie Bloor |
| 0:15.0 | and I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:17.0 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:29.1 | If you live in London, you'll be familiar with the rash of white and green bikes that at times appeared to be taking over our roads. |
| 0:33.0 | Our correspondent takes a ride to find out why cycling in the city has become so popular, and what it is that's frustrating car drivers. |
| 0:41.3 | And it's a dark week in the world of heavy metal. Well, I guess it's kind of always dark in that world, but there's a great sadness at the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. |
| 0:52.3 | We pay tribute to the Prince of Darkness with a listen to some of his landmark tracks. |
| 0:57.0 | First up, though. |
| 1:03.0 | The Ukrainians are taking to the streets across the country and they are not happy. |
| 1:17.9 | Bill 1244, freshly signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, |
| 1:23.5 | puts the country's two main independent anti-corruption agencies |
| 1:27.4 | under the jurisdiction of the |
| 1:29.1 | Prosecutor General, a Zelensky appointee. |
| 1:35.4 | Those agencies were formed after the Maidan Revolution in 2014, in which President Viktor |
| 1:41.2 | Yonikovych, a stooge of Russia with notoriously sticky fingers, |
| 1:45.1 | was booted out and fled. |
| 1:47.8 | They were a visible effort to shake off a reputation of corruption, |
| 1:52.0 | a sign to the world and to Ukrainians themselves |
| 1:54.8 | that the country wanted more democracy and less rot. |
| 1:58.5 | Now, those agencies are about to be stripped of their independence. |
... |
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