Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged parliament to swiftly remove Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko amid a series of corruption investigations that have escalated tensions. Kravchenko submitted his resignation last week, citing a "conscious political decision" after an investigation reached his office.
Investigators have accused one of Kravchenko's subordinates of operating a fraud scheme. While Kravchenko himself has not been charged or named as a suspect, the probe has intensified scrutiny on his leadership. This situation arises at a critical time for Ukraine, which is continuing to defend against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Kravchenko announced Monday that he had issued a formal notice of investigation for Semen Kryvonos, the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), one of the agencies that had investigated his office. In a video posted on Telegram, Kravchenko accused Kryvonos of using fraudulent means to avoid accountability for a corruption-related offense dating back to 2008.
Kravchenko's decision to travel abroad while his future as prosecutor general was undecided drew public criticism. He stated on Telegram that his trip included meetings with international partners to discuss "unchecked influence" within Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies.
However, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which jointly handled the case leading to Kravchenko's resignation, issued a joint statement asserting that they view Kravchenko's claims as part of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies. They noted that this campaign began last summer when efforts emerged to subordinate NABU and SAPO to the Prosecutor General's Office.
These agencies also stated that Kryvonos had not been formally served with any notice of investigation. "The statements of the prosecutor general, who recently resigned, are currently public in nature and carry no legal weight," their statement read.
President Zelenskyy formally submitted his request to parliament on Monday. "This prosecutor general has only one path ahead: dismissal from office. That is exactly what I told him," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. "Ukraine has seen all the reasons why. If he wants to call it political pressure, he’s free to call it that. I am asking members of parliament to support this dismissal without delay."