Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 35
Editor’s note: This is issue 35 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from July 30–Aug. 12, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs.
The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission.
Key updates
Ukraine restores NABU and SAP independence
Ukraine’s law restoring the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) was published on July 31 and came into force on Aug. 1 – the day after publication. The reform reverses provisions adopted earlier this month that undermined the agencies’ autonomy.
IMF’s benchmarks and soft commitments
Cabinet forms long-delayed Customs Service selection commission
On Aug. 4, the Cabinet of Ministers formed a selection commission to choose a new head of the State Customs Service, fulfilling a long-overdue structural benchmark under Ukraine’s International Monetary Fund program.
The commission includes Finance Ministry nominees — Andriy Yerashov (Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs), Dmytro Oliynyk (Federation of Employers of Ukraine), and Oleh Tymkiv (Moore Stephens audit firm) — alongside international experts Arūnas Adomenas (Lithuania’s customs attaché to the EU), David Bernstein, and Kunio Mikuriya.
The government was required to set up the commission in January. Delays pushed the IMF’s deadline for the SCS Head appointment from July to the end of December.
Oleksandr Tsyvinsky appointed as new director of the Bureau of Economic Security
On Aug. 6, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi as director of the Bureau of Economic Security, ending months of political impasse. Over the next 18 months, Tsyvinsky must establish two commissions — one for recruiting new staff and another for re-evaluating all existing bureau personnel — as part of a broader institutional overhaul.
Obligations to the EU
Parliament to tackle Ukraine Facility-linked reforms in August session
The next plenary session of Parliament, scheduled for Aug. 19–22, is expected to focus on several key draft laws tied to the EU’s Ukraine Facility program. Lawmakers are expected to vote in the second reading on:
- draft law on vocational education #13107-d;
- draft law establishing specialized administrative courts #13302;
- draft law on digitalization of enforcement proceedings #9363;
- draft law on ensuring legality in local self-government #13150.
Other key issues
Lawmakers move to ‘reset’ State Bureau of Investigation
Members of Parliament have registered draft law #13602, proposing a complete restart of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). Among the authors of the draft law are MPs from Holos, European Solidarity, and Sluha Narodu factions.
The bill calls for the dismissal of the current SBI head, a transparent selection process with a decisive role for international experts, and the creation of recruitment and re-evaluation commissions composed 50% of civil society representatives. The reform mirrors the recent Bureau of Economic Security reform model and seeks to address constitutional concerns over the president’s current SBI appointment powers.
