Anti-corruption watchdog says Ukraine's suspended prosecutor-general fled the country
The head of Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Action Center, Vitaliy Shabunin, told Radio NV that suspended Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko has fled Ukraine after signing a notice of suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos and recording a video address. Parliament is set to vote on his dismissal this week, while President Zelenskyy has said he sees Kravchenko's removal as the only path forward.
Key points
- Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned last week; his dismissal is to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament
- Anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAP say Kravchenko's actions amount to a systematic attack on their independence; Kravchenko himself has not been accused of a crime
- Kravchenko claims to have signed a notice of suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos; NABU and SAP reject his allegations and say Kryvonos was not officially served a suspicion
- The Anti-Corruption Action Center alleges Kravchenko signed the suspicion against Kryvonos in exchange for permission to leave Ukraine
- Voting on Kravchenko's dismissal was scheduled for Tuesday, according to several parliamentarians
- President Zelenskyy said he personally informed Kravchenko of the decision to dismiss him and sees no alternative
- Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Budanov said the situation 'is not normal and causes enormous damage to Ukraine's image in the world'
Why it matters
The case touches directly on the leadership of a key law-enforcement body and on the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions. The Anti-Corruption Action Center links Kravchenko's actions to a notice of suspicion against the NABU director and possible involvement of the Office of the President, raising questions about who is actually making decisions. Whether Kravchenko acted on his own or on instructions from the President's Office remains a matter of expert assessment and is central to understanding the real chain of command in the affair.
What happened
Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned last week after an anti-corruption investigation reached his office. One of his subordinates had been accused by law-enforcement bodies of organizing a fraud scheme; NABU and SAP earlier charged that subordinate with receiving bribes in exchange for helping cover up the activity of fraudulent call centers that deceived Ukrainian and foreign citizens. Kravchenko said he was on an official business trip abroad and announced that he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos, accusing him of forging official documents to obtain illegal benefit on an especially large scale and of a fictitious adoption meant to help Kryvonos avoid legal liability. He also reported signing a second suspicion notice against an unnamed person close to the head of SAP. NABU and SAP rejected Kravchenko's allegations and said Kryvonos had not been officially served a suspicion, calling Kravchenko's statement another stage of a 'systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies.' Kravchenko claims the anti-corruption bodies opened the investigation into his office to gain access to cases involving NABU and SAP leaders and to push him out.
President Zelenskyy said he personally informed Kravchenko of the decision to dismiss him and sees no alternative. Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said MPs received the president's official submission on the prosecutor-general's dismissal; several parliamentarians said the vote was scheduled for Tuesday. In an interview with Radio NV, Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, alleged that Kravchenko has fled Ukraine after signing the suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos and recording a video address, and suggested the president could have suspended Kravchenko by decree a week earlier during 'Operation Carthage.'
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources frame the episode around the independence of NABU and SAP and the role of the Office of the President. ZN.UA and NV emphasize NABU and SAP's characterization of Kravchenko's moves as a 'systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies' and report analysts' assessments that it remains unclear whether Kravchenko acted on his own or on instructions from the President's Office. The Anti-Corruption Action Center's version, aired on Radio NV, ties Kravchenko's departure from Ukraine directly to his signing of the suspicion against NABU's director.
Where reporting differs
Analysts and experts do not give a clear-cut assessment of whether Kravchenko acted on his own or on instructions from the Office of the President. NABU and SAP reject Kravchenko's allegations against their leadership and say no official suspicion was served on Kryvonos; Kravchenko, in turn, claims the anti-corruption bodies opened the investigation into his office to access cases involving NABU and SAP leaders and to remove him from his post. The Anti-Corruption Action Center offers a version in which Kravchenko signed the suspicion against Kryvonos in exchange for permission to leave the country — a claim not corroborated by other available sources.
Background
Ukraine is in the fifth year of the full-scale war and continues to depend on substantial international financial support. Delivery on anti-corruption reforms is one of the key conditions for that support and is critical to EU accession talks. Kravchenko had previously been criticized by opponents over alleged attempts to weaken the independence of NABU and SAP, allegations he denied.