Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed a new anti-corruption law reversing legislation he approved just last week that sparked widespread protests at home and warnings from the European Union.

The Ukrainian parliament voted unanimously for the bill after criticism that the earlier law undermined the independence of two key watchdogs, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), by placing them under the control of the prosecutor general, a political appointee.

“I want to thank all the lawmakers for passing my bill, now a law. I have just signed the document, and the text will be published immediately,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “There are guarantees for the proper, independent operation of anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies of our state.”

The reversal followed a week of protests in Kyiv and sharp rebukes from the EU, which warned that last week’s law risked derailing Ukraine’s anti-graft reforms and could jeopardize its bid to join the bloc.

Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center praised the move, saying it “restores the principles previously dismantled by the Verkhovna Rada.”

MPs are reported to have yelled at one another throughout the heated debate, and two of them briefly exchanged blows before others broke up the altercation.

On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the parliament once more, calling on lawmakers to approve the bill and yelling “shame!” at those who had initially supported it.

NABU is currently investigating dozens of sitting lawmakers. Since 2022, the agency has charged 71 current and former MPs with corruption, 31 of whom remain in parliament.

Former prime minister and MP Yulia Tymoshenko defended the now-repealed law during Thursday’s session, calling international pressure on Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies “a threat to sovereignty.”

“This bill, the president submitted under colossal pressure, is not about NABU and SAP, and not about the fight against corruption,” she said. “We are not a country that can be ruled by foreign powers as a dog on a leash.”

Last week, Zelensky defended the controversial measure, arguing that NABU and SAPO were infiltrated by Russian agents and ineffective in tackling high-level graft. Both agencies were investigating corruption allegations against some of his close allies.