Ukrainian prosecutor general removes lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk from SAPO selection commission
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko signed an order on September 4, 2026, terminating lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk's membership on the six-member Selection Commission that picks candidates for the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Five of the commission's six members had voted at a September 1 meeting to recommend his removal. Shevchuk argued the body would lose its authority to act after his exit; Transparency International Ukraine countered that it remains quorate with at least four members.
Key points
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko signed the dismissal order on September 4, 2026, ending Shevchuk's commission membership with effect from September 7, 2026.
- The basis was a proposal from the commission itself, supported by an absolute majority at a September 1 meeting; five of six members voted to recommend his removal.
- Kravchenko asked the Council of Prosecutors to run a competition promptly to nominate a new sixth member and urged remaining members not to pause the ongoing SAPO selection work.
- Shevchuk claimed the commission would lose the quorum needed to work and make decisions; Transparency International Ukraine said it can still decide matters with at least four of six members.
- Shevchuk had previously been stripped of or suspended from the right to practice law for ethical violations including public insults of colleagues and veterans.
- He is known for representing former pro-Russian MP Ilya Kyiva, journalist Svitlana Kryukova of the pro-Russian outlet Strana, Hennadiy Korban, and former MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko.
Why it matters
The commission is the body responsible for staffing the leadership of Ukraine's main anti-corruption prosecution body, including eventually picking a new SAPO head after Oleksandr Klymenko's term ends, so its composition and ability to act directly affect the pace and credibility of that process. Shevchuk's early-2025 appointment had drawn public criticism over his prior disbarment for ethics violations and his representation of figures linked to pro-Russian political activity, and civil-society groups had called for his removal. The dispute over whether the body remains quorate after his exit determines whether ongoing competitions for SAPO administrative positions can continue uninterrupted.
What happened
On September 4, 2026, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko signed an order terminating Oleksiy Shevchuk's membership on the Selection Commission that picks candidates for SAPO. The move followed a September 1 commission meeting at which five of the six members — all except Shevchuk — voted to recommend that Kravchenko remove him. According to Kravchenko, the order was based on that commission proposal, supported by an absolute majority. Shevchuk had himself filed a statement on the early termination of his powers, naming September 7 as the effective date, and announced his resignation via Facebook. In his statement he cited external influence on the commission and what he described as compromising actions and public statements by the leadership of SAPO and NABU. He also argued that after his departure the commission would lack the empowered composition needed to continue its work or adopt decisions, and urged the remaining members not to vote, adopt, or sign decisions or carry out further competition procedures. Transparency International Ukraine disputed that claim, saying the commission can still act with at least four of its six members present. Kravchenko asked the Council of Prosecutors to run a competition promptly to nominate a replacement sixth member and called on the remaining commission members, if not contradicting the commission's regulations, not to pause the ongoing selection of candidates for SAPO administrative positions during that competition. The deadline for applications for the position of SAPO Deputy Head is September 21.
Where reporting differs
Shevchuk argued that after his exit the commission would no longer have the empowered composition needed to work or make decisions, and he urged the remaining members to refrain from voting or adopting any further decisions or competition steps. Transparency International Ukraine rejected that reading, saying the commission can still adopt decisions with at least four of six members present and calling his claim of illegitimacy incorrect. Separately, Shevchuk framed his departure as a response to external influence on the commission and to the compromising effect of actions and public statements by SAPO and NABU leadership. Other accounts instead describe the move as following a September 1 majority commission vote to recommend his removal for publicly evaluating communications to the competition secretariat without coordination with other members and for not letting other members speak at the meeting.
Background
The SAPO Selection Commission has six members: three nominated by the Council of Prosecutors and three proposed by international partners, with the Prosecutor General approving the final composition. It is responsible for selecting candidates for SAPO administrative positions, including the head of SAPO after Oleksandr Klymenko's term ends, as well as the First Deputy Head and Deputy Head. Shevchuk was added to the commission after the Council of Prosecutors was able to propose only two candidates, with one having withdrawn, leaving the Prosecutor General to appoint him because, as it said, there were no other candidates. He had previously been stripped of and had suspended his right to practice law for ethical violations including public insults of colleagues and veterans, and he had served as defense counsel for former pro-Russian MP Ilya Kyiva, journalist Svitlana Kryukova of the pro-Russian outlet Strana, Hennadiy Korban, and former MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko. After former head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak was notified of suspicion in a case involving four mansions in Kozyn near Kyiv united in the 'Dynasty' cooperative, Shevchuk filed a court motion to take Yermak on bail.