Zelensky says no meetings yet on next Ukraine prosecutor general as acting head Kovalsky runs OGP
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 25, 2025 that he has not yet held any meetings or discussions with candidates for the post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Anton Kovalsky remains acting Prosecutor General, having been appointed to the role on September 17 after Ruslan Kravchenko was dismissed from the permanent post on September 15.
Key points
- Zelensky on September 25 said he has not held any meetings or discussions about candidates to replace the Prosecutor General.
- Anton Kovalsky is currently acting Prosecutor General; Zelensky appointed him by decree on September 17.
- Before his acting appointment, Kovalsky headed the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Prosecutor's Office from July 1, 2025.
- Ruslan Kravchenko was dismissed as Prosecutor General on September 15; the Verkhovna Rada had given its consent that day, with one source citing 317 votes.
- Kravchenko submitted his resignation on September 7 amid an NABU/SAP 'Carthage' investigation into alleged bribery from fraudulent call centers inside the OGP.
- On September 14, Kravchenko said he had signed a suspicion notice against NABU director Semen Kryvonos; the OGP later denied the report and said the entries were removed from the ERDR.
- Law enforcement sources told Ukrainska Pravda that Kravchenko left Ukraine by car on the night of September 14; he did not return to work after a business trip that ended September 18.
Why it matters
The Prosecutor General's post has been without a permanent holder since mid-September, and the President has now publicly confirmed that the selection process has not yet begun. The vacancy was triggered by an NABU/SAP 'Carthage' investigation into alleged bribery schemes inside the Office of the Prosecutor General tied to fraudulent call centers, followed by Kravchenko's resignation, his disputed suspicion announcement against the head of NABU, and his unannounced departure from Ukraine. The episode leaves questions about accountability at the top of the prosecution service and about how the acting leadership will handle cases tied to the Carthage operation.
What happened
On September 25, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists that he has not yet held any meetings or communications regarding candidates to become Ukraine's next Prosecutor General, and that Anton Kovalsky remains acting Prosecutor General. The comment came in an online question-and-answer session with the press when Zelensky was asked whether he planned to nominate Kovalsky for the permanent role.
Kovalsky was appointed acting Prosecutor General by presidential decree on September 17, having previously led the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Prosecutor's Office since July 1, 2025. He took over after Ruslan Kravchenko was dismissed from the permanent post on September 15, the same day the Verkhovna Rada gave its consent — one source cited 317 votes in favor. As acting head, Kovalsky has said his first priority is to meet the heads of key OGP divisions and regional bodies to address problematic cases, high-profile proceedings and personnel matters, and to complete internal procedures related to the 'Carthage' operation. He has also signed an order dismissing Kravchenko from the post of prosecutor at the OGP.
Kravchenko submitted his resignation on September 7, 2025 against the backdrop of the NABU and SAP 'Carthage' investigation into alleged bribery from fraudulent call centers at the OGP. On the morning of September 14, he announced he had signed a suspicion notice against NABU director Semen Kryvonos and a person close to SAP head Oleksandr Klymenko; the OGP later that day officially denied the information and said the entries had been removed from the ERDR. Kryvonos called the case fabricated and said the suspicion had not been served on him. According to law enforcement sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda, Kravchenko left Ukraine by car on the night of September 14; he had issued an order for a five-day business trip to Paris to take part in PACE hearings on Ukrainian children, though his name did not appear on the PACE discussion agenda. His trip ended on September 18 and he did not return to work.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ slightly on whether the Verkhovna Rada acted on Kravchenko's dismissal on the day of Zelensky's September 15 decree or earlier; the underlying sequence — Rada consent plus presidential decree on September 15 — is consistent across the material. The reported date of NABU and SAP's announcement of the 'Carthage' operation also varies between September 4 and September 5 across the supplied facts.
Background
Ruslan Kravchenko had served as Prosecutor General since June 2025 and previously headed the State Tax Service from December 2024. The 'Carthage' investigation, announced by NABU and SAP on September 4, 2025, alleged that a criminal organization inside the OGP — described in reporting as headed by a deputy head of a structural unit, Serhiy Kropyva — systematically collected bribes from fraudulent call centers defrauding Ukrainian and foreign citizens. Kravchenko publicly denied any connection to the scheme and said he had suspended the OGP employee named in the investigation and moved toward dismissing him. Anton Kovalsky, before heading the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Prosecutor's Office from July 2025, served as head of the Chernivtsi Oblast Prosecutor's Office from November 2021 and as deputy head of the Vinnytsia Oblast Prosecutor's Office from September 2020 to October 2021.