Ukraine: EU concerned about Kyiv's anti-corruption bodies

Anne Applebaum is an award-winning historian, writer, and publicist. In an interview with DW, she shared her insights on Russian President Vladimir Putin's goals in Ukraine. She also explained what she thinks the West doesn't understand about Putin, and vice versa.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar arrived on Tuesday in Kyiv, where he is scheduled to hold meetings with several Ukrainian top officials.

Saar is due to stay in Ukraine until Wednesday.

He is scheduled to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, as well as the local Jewish community, the Times of Israel cited a Ukrainian diplomatic source as saying.

Saar is the most senior Israeli official to visit Ukraine since his predecessor, current Energy Minister Eli Cohen, visited in February 2023.

The European Union's enlargement commissioner criticised a vote in the Ukrainian parliament to strip two anti-corruption bodies of independence.

"Seriously concerned over today's vote in the Rada. The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU's independence is a serious step back," Marta Kos wrote on X, in reference to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Kos stressed that the independence of the agency and an anti-graft prosecutor's office were "essential for Ukraine's EU path."

Kyiv has been adamant to accelerate its membership in the bloc, especially since the 2022 Russian invasion.

Ukraine's lawmakers voted in favor of amendments that would remove the independence of two anti-corruption bodies in the country.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is the entity investigating corruption allegations within state institutions. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) prosecutes corruption cases.

Both NABU and SAPO were placed under the direct supervision of the Prosecutor General, who is appointed by the president.

This comes a day after a NABU employee was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.

The move triggered criticism both at home and internationally, with the EU saying it was "concerned" with the decision. 

Ukrainian NGO The Anti-Corruption Action Center said the amendments made the two agencies meaningless, adding the country's Prosecutor General "will stop investigations into" President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "friends."

France's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, visited the Ukrainian border region of Kharkiv in the northeastern part of the country on Tuesday.

While walking through Kharkiv's city center, Barrot witnessed the current situation in the city, which is regularly being targeted by Russia, whose forces are some 30 kilometers away.

Speaking during his visit, Barrot accused Russia of "deliberately" targeting civilians and residential areas, in a bid to "undermine Ukrainian morale."

1.4 million people lived in Kharkiv before Russia's full-scale invasion into Ukraine in 2022.

As Russia steps up its attacks on Ukraine, the Kremlin is once again seeking help from North Korea.

South Korean intelligence reports that the country has already sent Russia 28,000 containers filled with weapons and artillery shells.

Ukraine's delegation for the peace talks with Russia will be headed by the country's ex-Defense Minister and current secretary of the security council Rustem Umerov, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The talks are scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Istanbul, in the same venue where previous talks between the two sides took place, with the Kremlin saying that there is no reason to expect a "miraculous breakthrough" in the talks.

This comes after US President Donald Trump's threat to impose "severe" sanctions on Russia should a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine not be reached in 50 days.

A 10-year-old boy was killed in Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, the authorities in the city of Kramatorsk say.

According to city mayor Alexander Goncharenko, guided glide bombs launched by Russia hit a residential building in Kramatorsk, located in eastern Ukraine. 

The city is located in the area of Donetsk that remains under Ukrainian control three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Glide bombs have a range of up to 40 kilometers (25 miles), and their use by the Russian army is made possible by the front moving closer and closer to Kramatorsk.

Ukraine's new Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said she will likely seek fresh financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cushion the country's fiscal needs in its defense against Russia's war, according to a report by Bloomberg. 

The report outlined that global donors have so far only earmarked half of the estimated $75 billion (€64.2 billion) budget that the war-strained country requires over the next two years.

With the IMF's roughly $16 billion loan program set to expire in 2027, new discussions will likely be held at a lender's review planned for August, especially since the end to the war is not in sight, she told the media house.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Defense Minister took to messaging app Telegram, saying the country will need at least $120 billion for defense spending next year and that negotiations were ongoing with NATO and the EU over $60 billion in funding from partners. 

On Monday, the UK and Germany led a virtual meeting on how to help Ukraine acquire the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression. 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he will "contribute to providing" five Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine, DW's Teri Schultz reported from Brussels. This includes two systems Berlin had previously discussed, with an additional one expected to be financed by Norway. 

It is not clear whether Germany would pay for the remaining two defense systems itself, or if it will seek contributions from other NATO members.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's former prime minister and newly appointed Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, who was also part of the meeting, said Kyiv needs more than $6 billion (€5.1 billion) worth of additional military spending to increase its own weapons production.

The UK imposed new sanctions on Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" which will target 135 oil tankers and two Russian companies involved in circumventing oil sanctions on Moscow.

Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Russia will hold another round of talks on Wednesday.

Two previous rounds held in Istanbul failed to yield any meaningful progress on a ceasefire. 

Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and Russia continue to exchange drones and missiles, aiming at each other's capital cities. 

Overnight Monday, Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Kyiv, just hours before the UK and Germany chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the US' plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons it needs.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.