Ukraine: Bill restores independence of anti-graft bodies

US President Donald Trump has called Russia's actions in Ukraine "disgusting" as the US president continues to apply pressure on the Kremlin.

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," the president told reporters at the White House. "I think what Russia's doing is very sad. A lot of Russians are dying."

His comments come after saying earlier this week he was "disappointed in President Putin."

Trump had earlier said Russia has to find a peace deal to end its war in Ukraine within 10 or 12 days, which was then clarified by senior US diplomat John Kelley at the UN Security Council on Thursday.

"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace," the diplomat told the 15-member Security Council.

The United States wants a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by August 8, the United States told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace," senior US diplomat John Kelley told the 15-member Security Council.

Trump said on Monday he would be setting a new deadline of "10 or 12 days" for Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

"I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump told reporters as he met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.

"I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There's no reason in waiting, we just don't see any progress being made," he added.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a thinly veiled nuclear threat against the United States as he continued his social media war of words with US President Donald Trump.

"If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path," Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.

He said Trump should remember "how dangerous the fabled 'Dead Hand' can be" — a reference to a secretive, semi-automated, Soviet-era command system designed to launch Moscow's nuclear missiles in the event of its leadership being eliminated.

Medvedev served as Russian president from 2008-2012, between President Vladimir Putin's terms in power, and is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council. He initially attracted Trump's ire when he said the US president's threat to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, such as India, constituted an "ultimatum game" whereby "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war" between Moscow and Washington.

"Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words," Trump wrote in response. "He's entering very dangerous territory!"

Having initially been considered a slightly more liberal alternative to Putin, Medvedev has since emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken, extreme, anti-Western and anti-Ukraine hawks.

While many critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, some Western diplomats feel his often outlandish statements actually offer an insight into Kremlin policymaking.

"With Medvedev, I don't know what his psychological condition is," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Chief-of-Staff Andriy Yermak said this week. "Maybe he was drunk."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law revised legislation that overturned a short-lived bill to curtail the powers and independence of the country's anti-corruption agencies.

"I have just signed the document, and the text will be published immediately," Zelenskyy said. "This guarantees the normal, independent work of anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies in our country. [It is] a truly productive day with real impact for the people."

The move completes a dramatic U-turn for Zelenskyy. His attempt last week to bring two of Ukraine's independent anti-corruption bodies under the control of state prosecutors had seen thousands take to the streets of Kyiv.

Though the protests didn't call for Zelenskyy's removal, they did represent the first major demonstrations since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and the backlash threatened to undermine public trust in Ukraine's leaders at a critical time.

"We got it fixed," wrote Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on social media, insisting that Ukraine "is committed to reforms and the fight against corruption," and that Zelenskyy "demonstrated a principled approach."

Corruption remains a problem in Ukraine and the independence of bodies working to combat is a prerequisite for Kyiv's goal of one day joining the European Union — which in turn is seen as a guarantor of protection against future Russian aggression.

In Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission said the bloc was satisfied that "the new law addresses key challenges" relating to the independence of the anti-corruption bodies but cautioned:

"Ukraine's [EU] accession will require continuous efforts to guarantee a strong capacity to combat corruption and respect rule of law. We expect Ukraine to deliver on those commitments swiftly and take decisive steps on rule of law. We continue to follow the situation closely and we remain available to support Ukraine in this process."

Ukrainian lawmakers have unanimously approved a bill restoring the independence of two anti-corruption agencies after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government bowed to pressure from protesters at home and Western allies abroad.

Last Wednesday, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, had passed legislation which effectively brought the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the control of the state prosecutor's office.

The move saw thousands of protesters take to the streets of Kyiv and also drew criticism from the European officials who warned that Ukraine was jeopardizing its bid for European Union membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had called the changes "a serious step back" but welcomed Thursday's U-turn, saying: "Today's law restores key safeguards, but challenges remain. The EU supports [Ukrainian] citizens' demands for reform. Upholding fundamental values and fighting corruption must remain the priority."

Both the NABU and SAPO were established with western support in 2015 to complement traditional police and state prosecutors in their battle against corruption —  an undemocratic legacy of the Soviet Union which remains a significant problem in Ukraine despite the toppling of the pro-Russian government under former President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Even after Zelenskyy submitted the revised bill, demonstrations had continued, with hundreds rallying near the presidential administration in Kyiv late on Wednesday chanting "Shame!" and "The people are the power!"

Speaking in parliament before voting, opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn thanked Ukrainians for stopping their politicians who he said had been "one step from the abyss" of autocracy.

The whole episode constituted the biggest expression of displeasure with President Zelenskyy since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. The eradication of graft is seen as key in distinguishing Ukraine from Russia, and is also a requirement for Kyiv to join the EU, which many Ukrainians see as critical to their future.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday that its forces had finally "liberated" the key Ukrainian frontline town of Chasiv Yar after 16 months of fierce fighting.

Located just to the west of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May 2023 after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the hilltop settlement overlooks a highway connecting the towns of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk — important Ukrainian logistics bases which are considered key to controlling the eastern Donetsk region.

Video footage verified by the Reuters news agency showed Russian soldiers raising a paratrooper banner and the Russian flag among the ruins of the town, but a Ukrainian military spokesman told the AFP news agency that the Russian claims were a "total lie" designed to "create a psychological effect."

The Ukrainian online mapping platform DeepState, which tracks territorial changes along the frontline, claimed that western parts of the town were still in Ukrainian hands.

Russia unilaterally claimed the annexation of Donetsk in September 2022, despite still only controlling about 60% of the region.

Following the latest deadly overnight strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, a furious Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for tougher action against Russia, including the total confiscation of frozen Russian financial assets and even a change of regime in Moscow.

"Russia keeps launching such attacks even when the whole world is calling on it to stop the war, a war that Russia started, a war that Russia keeps dragging on, a war that only the Russian leadership wants," the Ukrainian president said at a conference in Helsinki, Finland.

He accused the Russian government and military leadership of being "mentally stuck in another century, a time of brutal violence [and] total disregard for human rights and equality" and said that the current regime in the Kremlin is founded on "a total rejection of the post-Second World War world."

Referring to Russian assets frozen in the European Union, Zelenskyy said: "It's time to confiscate the Russian assets, not just freeze them … to use them to serve peace, not war. We need to fully block Russia's war machine, cut off its arms industry [and] limit its energy profits."

In some of his strongest terms yet, he warned: "If the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means, even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries."

At least eight people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother, were killed in further Russian airstrikes on Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Another 88 people were reported to have been injured, including ten children — the youngest being a five-month-old girl.

"Today, the world once again saw Russia's response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe," wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyon social media, describing the latest attacks as "showcase killings."

According to Zelenskyy, the Russian military launched eight rockets and over 300 drones at targets across the country. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down three of the rockets and most of the drones but nevertheless reported 27 hits across the capital, Kyiv.

"This is a horrific morning for Kyiv," wrote Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, while Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke of the highest casualty rate among children in a single night since the war began in February 2022.

"This is how the Kremlin responds to calls for peace: with deliberate terror and the systematic targeting of Ukraine's civilian population," said Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not seeking a solution. He is testing the world's resolve, continuing to receive confirmation that mass murder has no real consequences."

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, July 31.

After overnight Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine left at least seven people dead and over 80 injured, a furious Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the confiscation of frozen Russian financial assets and even regime change in Moscow.

In response, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted an electronics plant in western Russia.

Meanwhile, on the frontline, Russian forces have claimed to have captured the embattled town of Chasiv Yar — denounced as a "lie" by Kyiv.