Key facts
- Ukraine's parliament dismissed Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Sept. 15.
- Kravchenko resigned on Sept. 7 amid a corruption controversy.
- The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is investigating Kravchenko for alleged ties to a group that protected scam call centers.
- Kravchenko approved charges against NABU chief Semen Kryvonos on Sept. 14.
- Kravchenko requested and received authorization to travel to Paris for a conference on Sept. 16.
- A PACE spokesperson confirmed Kravchenko would not attend the Paris conference.
Ukraine's parliament dismissed Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on September 15, a week after his resignation and amid a growing confrontation between the country's anti-corruption agencies and the Prosecutor General's Office. The dismissal, which passed unanimously, came after Kravchenko announced he had approved charges against the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), Semen Kryvonos.
NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) stated that Kravchenko's announcement was an attempt to undermine the independence of anti-corruption efforts. The Prosecutor General's Office later posted a statement that seemed to contradict Kravchenko, claiming the reported charges were untrue but also canceled, with the authority unclear.
Kravchenko, previously seen as a loyalist to President Volodymyr Zelensky, resigned on September 7. He is reportedly under investigation by NABU for alleged ties to a criminal group that protected scam call centers and laundered millions of hryvnias. Recordings obtained by investigators refer to a "boss" matching Kravchenko's patronymic and former position as head of the State Tax Service.
Kravchenko has not been formally charged in the case. His announcement of charges against Kryvonos escalated the dispute. The controversy unfolded as Kravchenko prepared to leave Ukraine, having received authorization to attend a conference in Paris on September 16. However, a spokesperson for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that neither Kravchenko nor any member of his office would participate in the event.