Topic: Law enforcement
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Suspected eavesdropping device found in Lviv mayor's official car
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi announced that a device possibly used for eavesdropping, containing an antenna and a SIM card, was discovered in his official service car. Sadovyi turned to law enforcement about the find and publicly challenged authorities to reinstall the device if it was placed there legally. The discovery comes roughly a year after a similar suspected listening device was reportedly found in his office.
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Ternopil doctors charged with selling forged mobilization deferrals for up to $12,000
Law enforcement in Ukraine's Ternopil region has exposed a medical advisory commission that allegedly sold around 1,000 forged health conclusions over three years to help men obtain deferrals from mobilization, charging four doctors and two intermediaries with criminal offenses including obstruction of the Armed Forces and facilitating illegal border crossings.
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Ukraine's parliament backs bill boosting parliamentary oversight of law enforcement
On 17 September, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, adopted draft law No. 14130 in first reading with 240 votes in favor. The bill strengthens parliamentary control over law enforcement and prosecutorial bodies, including mandatory annual reporting by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General on torture and ill-treatment investigations.
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Rome prosecutors expose Russian spy network at embassies in Italy and the Vatican
An investigation by the Rome prosecutor's office, published by the Italian newspaper Riformista, has exposed a network of Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover at Russia's embassies in Italy and the Vatican. Named suspects include GRU and SVR operatives tasked with espionage against NATO-linked targets, recruitment for sabotage, and monitoring of the Holy See's activities on Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
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Zelensky appoints Anton Kovalsky as acting Prosecutor General of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed decree No. 946/2026 appointing Anton Kovalsky, previously the head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office, as acting Prosecutor General of Ukraine. The appointment comes days after the Verkhovna Rada voted to accept the resignation of Ruslan Kravchenko, whose dismissal followed an NABU and SAP investigation into a criminal organization operating in the Office of the Prosecutor General.
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Zelensky orders return of asset declarations for rear-echelon security officials, signs call-center fraud law
On 16 September 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the preparation of a decision to reinstate mandatory asset declarations for law enforcement officers and Security Forces members who are not at war, in a scope sufficient to monitor their property and lifestyle. In the same address he signed a law introducing criminal liability for fraudulent call centers and ordered a vetting of all heads of central executive bodies, citing high corruption risks at the tax service, ARMA, and various inspectorates.
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Ukrainian anti-corruption court upholds detention of prosecutor's office official in "Carthage" case
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court Appeals Chamber on September 16 upheld the detention of Serhiy Kropyva, a former deputy head of the Office of the Prosecutor General's Department of International Cooperation, with an alternative bail of 120 million hryvnia in the "Carthage" case. The court rejected the defense's request to reduce the bail to 2 million hryvnia or to impose house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Kropyva remains in custody as the bail has not been posted.
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Ukrainian parliament dismisses Prosecutor General Kravchenko after he announced suspicion against NABU chief and left Ukraine
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada voted 317-0 to dismiss Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on 15 September 2026, one day after he announced suspicions against NABU director Semen Kryvonos and a person close to the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), and left the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky had suspended Kravchenko the previous evening. The dismissal comes against the backdrop of the 'Carthage' operation, conducted by NABU and SAP, which has exposed a corruption scheme involving officials of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG).
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Ukraine's parliament backs reboot of energy regulator in first reading
On 16 September, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 14282 in its first reading, with 249 MPs voting in favour. The bill aims to strengthen the independence of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utility Services (NKREKP) and set the stage for a full reboot of the regulator after adoption. It also responds to a major corruption case in the energy sector by seeking to remove associates of the implicated figures from the body.
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US indicts five alleged Russian intelligence operatives for murder-for-hire and sabotage plots targeting Ukraine's allies
The US Department of Justice has charged five people it says are linked to Russian intelligence services with conspiracy to finance terrorism and, in three cases, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege the network recruited US-based individuals to surveil and kill Russian opposition figures in Washington and Lithuania, and coordinated sabotage attacks in European countries that support Ukraine. All five defendants remain at large; the Kremlin has rejected the allegations.
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Ukraine's parliament votes 317-0 to dismiss Prosecutor General Kravchenko
On 15 September 2026, the Verkhovna Rada voted unanimously, 317 to 0, to dismiss Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed decree No. 932/2026 formalizing the dismissal. The vote came a day after Zelensky suspended Kravchenko from the post under Ukraine's martial law provisions and after Kravchenko left Ukraine overnight claiming to be on an official business trip abroad. Kravchenko's removal follows a public confrontation with the country's independent anti-corruption bodies over the NABU/SAP "Carthage" operation and his announcement of a suspicion notice against NABU director Semen Kryvonos.
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NABU exposes group suspected of stealing 100,000 tonnes of Ukrnafta fuel worth over 2.88 billion hryvnias
Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAPO announced they had exposed an organized group suspected of misappropriating 100,000 tonnes of oil products belonging to Ukrnafta, Ukraine's largest oil producer. The estimated value exceeds 2.88 billion hryvnias. Four suspects have been formally notified in the first episode of the case, with several others identified. The investigation covers a 2017–2020 scheme in which fuel was routed through affiliated companies and proceeds were diverted via offshore entities.
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Anti-corruption court extends Yermak's procedural obligations for 60 days, lifts electronic bracelet on medical grounds
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (ВАКС) extended for 60 days the procedural obligations imposed on Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President, who is suspected of laundering property obtained through criminal means. The court declined to extend the requirement that Yermak wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, citing an independent medical specialist's finding that continued use could threaten his life and health.
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NABU exposes bribery scheme at Ternopil Oblast tax office, two officials detained
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) exposed a systematic bribery scheme at the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil Oblast. Two senior officials — a deputy head of the regional tax administration and a head of one of its territorial units — were detained after being caught receiving a bribe through an intermediary. They face up to 12 years in prison under Ukraine's Criminal Code.
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Ukraine’s Prosecutor General announces suspicion against NABU director, then leaves the country; Zelensky moves to dismiss him
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who had resigned a week earlier amid the NABU/SAPO “Carthage” operation against his own office, announced on 14 September that he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos. The same night he left Ukraine. President Zelensky publicly called for his immediate dismissal, submitted the motion to the Verkhovna Rada, and signed a decree suspending him under martial-law provisions. The European Commission said it was aware of the events and stressed that independent anti-corruption bodies are a cornerstone of the rule of law in Ukraine.
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Explosion and fire hit Bulgarian EMCO arms depot for second time in weeks
On the night of September 12, an explosion and fire broke out at an EMCO weapons and ammunition depot near the village of Tsareva Livada in Bulgaria's Gabrovo region, the second such incident at an EMCO facility in recent weeks. Bulgarian authorities are investigating possible sabotage, with the interior minister not ruling out external interference. EMCO is owned by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, whose facilities Bulgarian prosecutors have linked to attacks by Russian agents.
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Germany identifies two suspects in Leipzig airport drone attack, blames Russia
German investigators have named a Belarusian citizen and a Russian linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) as the main suspects in the 4 August drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. A drone carrying explosives hidden in a vegetable tin can landed next to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft but failed to detonate because of a faulty detonator. On 1 September, Germany officially blamed Russia for the incident and announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the agreement on the "Russian House" in Berlin; Moscow responded by closing the German consulate general in St. Petersburg and Goethe cultural centers.
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Anti-Corruption Center says Ukrainian investigators knew of alleged crimes in Skelia regiment since March
Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Center (ЦПК) has alleged that the State Bureau of Investigation (ДБР) may have known since at least March 2026 about alleged crimes in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" but failed to open pretrial investigations until after a Babel media investigation was published in June. According to ЦПК, the Office of the Military Ombudsman sent eight letters to the ДБР and the Office of the Prosecutor General between March and June 2026 describing possible offenses including torture, physical violence and failure to provide medical aid resulting in death; in six of those cases the ДБР declined to open pretrial investigations, citing insufficient grounds.
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Anthropic: Russia-linked hackers used Claude Code to automate cyberattacks on Ukraine and Europe
Anthropic published a report documenting how a cyber actor tracked as GTG-20006 — linked by researchers to the Russian group Midnight Blizzard — used the company's Claude Code AI tool to automate large portions of cyberattacks against Ukrainian and European government, defense and diplomatic targets. The investigation identified more than 20 organizations hit between December 2025 and August 2026, with military drone developers and their supply chains among the key themes.
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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns amid NABU 'Carthage' corruption probe
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation on the evening of 7 September after NABU and SAPO exposed a criminal organization within the Office of the Prosecutor General accused of protecting fraudulent call centers. First Deputy Prosecutor General Maria Vdovychenko also resigned. The president has not yet formally submitted the dismissal to the Verkhovna Rada.