ContentsTen strange days that made everyone show their true colorsWar and the fight against corruption — Ukraine’s Scylla and Charybdis“Zelenskyy’s heroic armor is shattered”“The cardboard independence” of NABU and SAPOThe effort to undermine the independence of NABU and SAPO, Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies, and turn them into yet another loyal enforcement tool of the President’s Office exploded into an information bomb no one had anticipated. For over a week, it was the number one topic, sparking critical debates not only among Ukrainians but also among Ukraine’s Western partners.Hundreds of articles in major international outlets badly damaged Zelenskyy’s image — the same image he had carefully modeled on Winston Churchill’s victorious persona before Donald Trump’s return to the political scene. Now, many were reminded — and realized again — why most Ukrainians did not approve of Zelenskyy’s actions before the all-out war began.Ten strange days that made everything clearFor many Ukrainians, the chaos of the last two weeks echoed a phrase by military volunteer and aerial intelligence leader Mariya Berlinska: “They created a problem for themselves — and then heroically solved it.” Until July 22, NABU and SAPO barely made headlines. Though both had operated for nearly a decade, few Ukrainians could explain their roles — or even decode their acronyms.Then came the fateful vote in parliament: 263 MPs — from Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, former pro-Russian factions, and independents — backed a bill widely seen as an attempt to undermine the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions. In doing so, they unintentionally turned NABU and SAPO into unexpected “rock stars,” beloved by a young, politically engaged public despite a lack of “hits.”Mass protests erupted in nearly every major city — a first since Russia’s full-scale invasion — catching the President’s Office off guard. Zelenskyy ignored the demonstrations in his nightly address, published at 1 a.m. on July 23. By morning, Bankova was scrambling into damage control. MPS were rushed back from vacation. A new presidential bill was drafted to restore the old status quo — albeit with a new provision: NABU and SAPO employees would now face internal polygraphs.July 31 marked the theatrical climax. Lawmakers who just a week prior had decried NABU as a puppet of foreign powers were now offering contrition, blaming party pressure or “mistakes.” Some even showed up to parliament holding cardboard signs — hoping to signal alignment with the protesters, not the president.MP Iryna Herashchenko summed up the public frustration:"When will Ukraine develop a functioning reputation economy? Shouldn’t someone resign over this? There must be political responsibility for putting the trust of our partners at risk. Reputation should matter more than position."Overall, it was 10 strange days that, as the BBC notes, changed Zelenskyy and opened many people's eyes to the nature of Ukraine's problems.War and the fight against corruption — Ukraine’s Scylla and CharybdisAt its core, the administration’s miscalculation was a failure to understand the symbolic and practical weight of NABU and SAPO — institutions born out of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and Ukraine’s painful pivot away from the kleptocratic Yanukovych era. While far from perfect, they remain among the few mechanisms that offer checks on executive power.The Zelenskyy administration framed its push as a patriotic purge — rooting out “Russian influence.” The SBU raided NABU investigators just before the vote, arresting a suspected mole. But for many Ukrainians, this read like a power play to shield Zelenskyy’s inner circle — including Timur Mindich, a close friend and co-owner of the president’s former comedy empire, Kvartal 95, and the subject of an ongoing NABU probe.To many, the timing felt deliberate.According to Transparency International, Ukraine still ranks 105th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index — lower than Serbia, Bosnia, and Belarus. While progress has been made, public trust remains fragile. As Bloomberg notes, Ukraine’s sprawling informal economy and ingrained culture of tax evasion make corruption incredibly difficult to root out — even in wartime.The result? A crisis of confidence — not just at home, but abroad. As Politico bluntly titled one recent piece: “Ukraine’s insidious enemy: Its own leadership.”“Zelenskyy’s heroic armor is shattered”This debacle produced two seismic shifts: the erosion of Western patience with Kyiv’s leadership and the political awakening of Ukraine’s Gen Z. With witty slogans and cardboard signs, young activists dominated the streets and social feeds — some declaring: “The source of power is people with cardboard.”But international backlash poses the greater danger.James Wasserstrom, a former U.S. anti-corruption official, told The New York Times that Zelenskyy’s wartime glow is beginning to fade. “There is exasperation at Zelensky in the donor community,” he said. Bloomberg’s Marc Champion put it more sharply: “A misstep on corruption has punctured his once heroic image.”In Brussels, the gloves came off. As Espreso correspondent Tetiana Vysotska reported, EU criticism — once muted — grew louder by the day. European officials now worry that Ukraine’s interference with anti-corruption bodies will delay EU accession. MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze warned that the scandal could “severely damage both the pace and trust” needed for Ukraine’s integration into the EU.The EU has already frozen €1.5 billion from the Ukraine Facility, citing Kyiv’s failure to deliver on three of 16 agreed reforms. Worse, Ukraine risks losing up to €3 billion in total if reform benchmarks continue to lag.Still, Brussels stopped short of cutting ties. EU officials praised the rollback of the NABU/SAPO law but warned: “challenges remain.” The trust deficit won’t be fixed overnight.“The cardboard independence” of NABU and SAPOOn the surface, the crisis appears to be over. But the deeper questions persist.Zelenskyy tried to reclaim the narrative on August 1 with a photo-op, flanked by NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and SAPO Chief Oleksandr Klymenko. They “reported” on the arrest of a pro-presidential MP and several regional officials in a drone procurement case. Official NABU and SAPO accounts even thanked the president for his “support.”That move backfired."Cardboard independence didn’t last long," wrote opposition MP Volodymyr Vyatrovych."Why are these agencies reporting to the president at all?" added MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak.Activists and legal experts warned that the agencies’ credibility was again at risk — especially with high-profile cases involving Zelenskyy’s allies still unresolved.Investigative journalist Danylo Mokryk captured the mood:"Close the window — it’s getting drafty in the president’s office," he quipped. “This moment, when NABU and SAPO were given public legitimacy, was squandered the second they walked into that room.”Which brings us to the real unresolved drama: Will cases like those against Mindich, Chernyshov, and Shurma move forward — or disappear?As MP Volodymyr Ariev told Espreso, pressure is building to release explosive wiretaps from the Mindich investigation. If made public, he warned, they could spark a political crisis “even more serious than the tape scandal during the Kuchma presidency.”So far, Zelenskyy’s administration seems intent on restoring order — not accountability. But in a country still fighting for survival, the political cost of undermining its own credibility may prove too high. As Der Spiegel summed it up:"Parliament may have restored NABU and SAPO’s independence — but the damage to Zelenskyy’s reputation is done."