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What happened in Ukraine politics on 2 August 2025?
Summary
A look back at the diplomatic and domestic developments surrounding 2 August 2025, from US submarine orders to Kyiv's anti-corruption law.
What was the political backdrop in Ukraine and the region on 2 August 2025? Two developments in the preceding days framed it: a sharp exchange between Washington and Moscow, and a domestic decision in Kyiv on anti-corruption bodies.
Submarines near Russia
On 1 August 2025, US president Donald Trump ordered two United States Navy nuclear submarines to be deployed near Russia, for potential military action against Russian forces. The order came in response to statements by Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Medvedev had addressed Trump's previously stated deadline for ending the war in Ukraine.
The episode unfolded as the second Trump administration, in office since 2025, pursued a peace deal and increasingly sought to distance itself from financially supporting Ukrainian resistance. That contrasted with the Biden administration, which had condemned the invasion that began in February 2022 and provided military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine while imposing sanctions on Russia and Belarus.
Kyiv restores agency independence
On 31 July 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law restoring the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP). The signing came amid warnings from the European Union and the G7 that financial support could be suspended if the agencies were suppressed.
The picture on 2 August 2025
By 2 August 2025, then, Ukraine faced pressure on two fronts: a US-Russia confrontation over the deadline for ending the war, and Western insistence that its anti-corruption institutions remain independent.
