Ukraine's prime minister said Wednesday he was setting a special commission that would vet up to a million civil servants and security personnel under a new anti-graft law. Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a government meeting that the law adopted Tuesday covered "up to a million officials of various rank, including the entire cabinet" as well as the entire judiciary.
Ukrainian lawmakers sparked protests outside parliament when they initially rejected the so-called "lustration law" - a measure aimed at checking officials' links to the feared Soviet-era secret service and the current Russian authorities. Adoption of such a vetting process was one of the main demands of the leaders of bloody protests that ousted Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych in February.
The law would bar anyone unable to explain their sources of income or assets from holding office from five to 10 years. The same punishment applies to those found guilty of backing pro-Russian separatist causes and anyone who served as governor, minister or prosecutor around the time when Ukrainian police opened fire on the anti-government demonstrators in Kiev, killing nearly 100 people over three days. It also would require anyone who held any state office for at least one year under Yanukovych to step down.