Zelensky dismisses Prosecutor General Kravchenko as successor candidates emerge

Why it matters

The Prosecutor General is one of Ukraine's top law-enforcement offices, so the dismissal and succession carry significant political weight. Kravchenko's exit was preceded by an open confrontation with anti-corruption bodies, including his own move to issue a notice of suspicion against the head of NABU. The reported frontrunner, Anton Kovalsky, is a regional prosecutor with a relatively short tenure in his current post, raising questions about the profile being sought for the role.

What happened

On September 15, the Verkhovna Rada voted 317 in favor of dismissing Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the dismissal decree the same evening, with the order appearing on the president's website. Kravchenko had submitted his resignation amid a NABU and SAP investigation into alleged 'cover-up' of call centers connected to his office. On September 14, Kravchenko had himself signed a notice of suspicion for NABU director Semen Kryvonos, sharpening a public clash with the anti-corruption bodies; he also accused NABU and SAP of seizing case materials during searches in the 'Carthage' special operation in order to halt procedural decisions.

Ukrainian media named two main candidates for the role: Valeriy Prykhodzhanov, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional prosecutor's office, and Anton Kovalsky, head of the Khmelnytskyi regional prosecutor's office. Sources identified Kovalsky, originally from Vinnytsia, as the more likely successor. Kovalsky's career moved from deputy prosecutor positions in Vinnytsia to head of the Chernivtsi regional prosecutor's office from November 2021, and then to his current post in Khmelnytskyi from July 1, 2025. As of publication, no acting Prosecutor General had been appointed and the Office of the President declined to answer questions about a successor.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian coverage, anchored by LIGA.net and Ukrainska Pravda, presents the story largely through unnamed law-enforcement sources, foregrounding insider information about the candidates and about Kravchenko's movements in the days before the dismissal. The reporting centers the procedural and personnel dimensions — who resigned, who is being considered, and how the president acted — rather than the underlying NABU and SAP case itself.

Where reporting differs

Sources give conflicting accounts of Kravchenko's whereabouts on the night of September 14: Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement say he left Ukraine in an official vehicle, while Kravchenko publicly stated he was on a business trip. An order obtained by UP cites a 5-day PACE trip to Paris 'to participate in PACE hearings regarding Ukrainian children,' though Kravchenko was not listed among the speakers in the event's agenda.

Background

Kravchenko had taken an openly confrontational stance toward anti-corruption bodies shortly before his dismissal, signing a notice of suspicion for NABU director Semen Kryvonos on September 14. Sources in law enforcement alleged that Kravchenko left Ukraine the same night under the cover of an official business trip to PACE hearings in Paris, where he was not listed as a speaker. Anton Kovalsky's career path moved through deputy and then head positions in Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi regional prosecutor's offices before his July 1, 2025 appointment in Khmelnytskyi.