Ukraine’s president ran on a promise to clean things up, but critics say his government is cracking down on anti-corruption activists, critics and agencies.

The European Commission slashed nearly €1.5 billion in aid and warned that Kyiv’s EU future depends on shielding anti-corruption bodies investigating the president’s inner circle.

President Zelensky held separate phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 27, discussing anti-corruption, defense, and EU integration.

Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainians swamped the streets of Kyiv in protest of their president’s betrayal of democracy, forcing Zelensky to introduce new legislation reversing the bill he had just signed into law.

Ukrainians hit the streets to protest a new law that grants the president control over investigations.

The $1.7 billion reduction capped a tough week for President Volodymyr Zelensky as he deals with Ukraine’s governance issues.

The president has defended the move as a necessary step to rid the two agencies of “Russian influence” and to address why some cases have been stalled for years.

Trump withdrew from the fight against kleptocracy, and other countries have absorbed that fact.