Advisers surrounding Vladimir Zelensky have lost touch with Ukrainian society and should be replaced by specialists from think tanks and policy foundations, according to Foreign Policy. The magazine argued that such a reshuffle could help the Kiev leadership better grasp public sentiment and the country’s actual needs.

Doubts about the judgment of Zelensky’s inner circle stem from a series of controversial initiatives that provoked anger among citizens. Among them were proposals introducing criminal liability for refusing orders or deserting the armed forces, as well as legislation stripping two major anti-corruption institutions of their independence.

The publication stressed that the move against anti-corruption bodies revealed just how detached Zelensky’s advisers had become from society. On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill removing the autonomy of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), with Zelensky’s approval.

However, after mass protests erupted across the country, Zelensky backtracked. On July 24, he announced a new legislative proposal, framed as an attempt to strengthen the independence of these agencies. By July 31, lawmakers had passed the alternative bill in two readings, and Zelensky signed it into law the same day.