Ukrainian Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns days after Carthage operation and searches
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation days after the NABU-led "Carthage" operation exposed a criminal organization inside the Office of the Prosecutor General, and after searches were conducted at his office and home. Kravchenko framed his departure as a conscious political decision and said he did not want the post to be used as an instrument of political confrontation. The resignation follows a reported meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kravchenko, and "Servant of the People" faction head Davyd Arakhamia on the prosecutor general's future.
Key points
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation and called it a conscious political decision.
- Kravchenko said he did not want the post to be used as an instrument of political confrontation and thanked President Zelensky and the Verkhovna Rada for their trust.
- NABU and SAP announced the "Carthage" operation on 4 September 2025, identifying five suspects in a criminal organization alleged to have protected fraudulent call centers and laundered proceeds.
- Media sources named the suspected organizer as Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OPG's Department of International Cooperation, known in NABU materials as "Chancellor."
- On 6 September, VAKS placed Kropyva in custody with an alternative bail of UAH 120 million; on 7 September, VAKS also detained Yelyzaveta "Muza" Ivakhnenko (bail UAH 20 million) and Kropyva's driver Serhiy Kutsyi (bail UAH 3 million).
- Kravchenko confirmed NABU searches at his office and home, said he has no procedural status in the Carthage case, and acknowledged his family rents a 280-square-meter house in Kozyn that he will declare.
- On 7 September, President Zelensky met with Kravchenko and "Servant of the People" faction head Davyd Arakhamia on Kravchenko's continued tenure; Kravchenko announced he was preparing submissions to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors regarding seven prosecutors from Kropyva's circle.
Why it matters
The Prosecutor General's office sits at the top of Ukraine's law-enforcement system, and Kravchenko's exit removes the official who oversaw a body whose own deputy head is now accused of running a criminal organization. The "Carthage" case directly implicates senior officials of the Office of the Prosecutor General in allegedly protecting fraudulent call centers, raising questions about institutional integrity at the heart of the justice system. Kravchenko initially said he would not resign on his own initiative and only stepped down after a meeting with President Zelensky and "Servant of the People" faction head Davyd Arakhamia, making this a politically charged personnel decision rather than a purely legal one.
What happened
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation days after NABU and SAP announced the "Carthage" operation on 4 September 2025. The operation targeted a criminal organization allegedly providing cover for fraudulent call centers and laundering proceeds, with five suspects identified; media sources named the suspected organizer as Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OPG's Department of International Cooperation, known in NABU materials as "Chancellor." On 6 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) placed Kropyva in custody with an alternative bail of UAH 120 million; on 7 September, VAKS also detained Yelyzaveta "Muza" Ivakhnenko (bail UAH 20 million) and Kropyva's driver Serhiy Kutsyi (bail UAH 3 million). Kravchenko confirmed that NABU had conducted searches at his office and home and said he holds no procedural status in the case. On 7 September, he met journalists and initially said he had no intention of submitting a resignation on his own initiative but would leave if asked by President Zelensky or the Verkhovna Rada. The same day, President Zelensky held a meeting with Kravchenko and "Servant of the People" faction head Davyd Arakhamia on Kravchenko's continued tenure. Kravchenko then submitted his resignation, calling it a conscious political decision and saying he did not want the office of Prosecutor General to be used as an instrument of political confrontation. He also acknowledged his family rents a 280-square-meter house in Kozyn that he will declare, and announced preparations to submit cases to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors regarding seven prosecutors from Kropyva's circle.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian, in Ukrainian or Russian, and uniformly foreground the Carthage operation, the searches at Kravchenko's office and home, and his subsequent resignation as a single continuous political-legal story. Coverage heavily centers Kravchenko's own denials, his framing of the situation as a "political order," and his stated conditions for leaving the post, while also giving space to anti-corruption prosecutors' specific allegations about Kropyva, the Kozyn renovation, and intercepted conversations. Sources emphasize institutional consequences for the Office of the Prosecutor General: Kravchenko's announced dismissal of Kropyva, submissions to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors regarding seven of Kropyva's associates, and reviews of prosecutors Kropyva had recommended for appointment. The political dimension is highlighted through the reported 7 September meeting between Zelensky, Kravchenko, and "Servant of the People" faction head Davyd Arakhamia, framed as the venue where the decision on Kravchenko's tenure was taken.
Where reporting differs
Whether NABU and SAP conducted searches at Prosecutor General Kravchenko on 4 September is disputed: Ukrainska Pravda, citing political sources, reported searches at Kravchenko, his deputy Mariya Vdovychenko, and Odesa OVA head Oleh Kiper; the OPG publicly denied the searches that evening, then acknowledged on 5 September that NABU detectives had carried out investigative actions in service premises used by Kravchenko. Kravchenko's location after the launch of operation "Carthage" is also disputed: Ukrainska Pravda reported he "could not be found," ZN.UA sources said he was at a private clinic in Kyiv, while the OPG denied both accounts and Kravchenko's spokesperson Natalia Baiurko said on 5 September that he was at his workplace. The nature of Kravchenko's relationship to Kropyva and the Kozyn house is also contested: SAP prosecutors at Kropyva's bail hearing alleged Kropyva coordinated undeclared renovation work at Kravchenko's house in elite Kozyn and arranged travel for his wife, citing intercepted conversations; Kravchenko said his family rents a 280-square-meter house in Kozyn and that he would declare it, while the OPG stated the court ruling materials contain "no direct data" that Kravchenko gave instructions, received funds, or financed repairs with criminal proceeds.
Background
On 4 September 2025, NABU and SAP announced operation "Carthage," targeting a criminal organization that allegedly provided cover for fraudulent call centers and laundered proceeds; five suspects were identified. Media sources named the suspected organizer as Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OPG's Department of International Cooperation, known in NABU materials by the alias "Chancellor." On 6 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) placed Kropyva in custody with an alternative bail of UAH 120 million; on 7 September, VAKS also detained Yelyzaveta "Muza" Ivakhnenko (bail UAH 20 million) and Kropyva's driver Serhiy Kutsyi (bail UAH 3 million). Suspects in the case are charged under Articles 255 and 209 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (creation/leadership of a criminal organization and legalization of proceeds), carrying up to 15 years' imprisonment.