Press Release
Published on October 23, 2025
A new report from Human Rights First, titled Attacking the Watchdogs: Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Activists and Institutions Face New Wave of Assaults, reveals a deepening campaign of intimidation, arrests, and political interference aimed at silencing Ukraine’s leading anti-corruption activists.
Based on interviews conducted in Kyiv and Kharkiv in October 2025, the report finds that activists exposing corruption at the highest levels of power are facing increased attacks on their work— including raids, erroneous lawsuits, criminal charges, surveillance, and physical threats, in what many describe as a deliberate effort to undermine the country’s post-2014 anti-corruption infrastructure. Activists interviewed for the report described an atmosphere of fear and exhaustion as they face increased pressure, not only from the ongoing war, but from elements within Ukraine’s own government.
“It’s clear that Ukraine’s anti-corruption activists are under fire,” said Brian Dooley, Human Rights First Senior Advisor and co-author of the report. “For years, they’ve been working to hold those in power to account and expose corruption. Western allies should not look away. They must make clear that their support for Ukraine includes defending the activists and journalists who are vital to keeping Ukraine democratic.”
The report highlights the recent attacks on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), two institutions formed in 2014 in an effort to stem corruption. Although it is promising that the attacks on these institutions have gained some attention, the report highlights how the harassment of leading activists must also be a priority. It also cites new laws restricting public access to information, endangering transparency just as billions in reconstruction contracts are being awarded.
Human Rights First calls on the Ukrainian government to immediately end attacks on activists and journalists and ensure credible investigations into all incidents. It also urges Ukraine’s allies, including the U.S. and EU, to publicly state they support Ukraine’s democracy, and will not support the use of authoritarian tactics by the Ukrainian authorities.
Attacking the Watchdogs: Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Activists and Institutions Face New Wave of Assaults is available here.
