Civilian deaths mounted as Russia continued to press its offensive in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have captured two more villages, as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to retaliate with further attacks inside Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted a new bill restoring the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies.

The pro-Russian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is blocking Ukraine's EU accession talks, criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Orbán accused him of "theatrical threats." Orbán shared an excerpt from his interview with Hungarian media on social networks.

July, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted a search at the residence of Rostyslav Shurma, former Deputy Head of the President's Office and Zelenskyy's top economic advisor,

The move to curb anti-corruption agencies sparked protests, and by Wednesday evening, Zelenskyy had announced a new bill that would preserve the agencies' independence.

A law curbing the independence of anti-graft agencies triggered the first street protests of the war and rare rebukes from European allies.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Dnipro, protesting against the controversial bill which effectively eliminates the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions.V

Critics of the new legislation say it constitutes a power grab by Zelenskyy and his presidential office -- which is headed by influential chief of staff Andriy Yermak -- that undermines Ukrainian democracy and threatens the country's EU ambitions.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, but hopes of progress were low as delegations prepared to hold another round of talks.

Yuliia Svyrydenko becomes Ukraine's new prime minister amid President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's executive branch shake with Russian war in fourth year.