Topic: Politics
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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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Zelensky signs sanctions against former press secretary Mendel and Russian propagandists
President Volodymyr Zelensky on 13 September 2026 enacted personal sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council against his former press secretary Yulia Mendel, the only Ukrainian citizen among 10 individuals in the package. On the same day he signed two further decrees targeting 29 Russian citizens and 29 companies linked to the state corporation Rostec, and 20 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet. The move follows a May 2026 interview in which Mendel repeated Russian-aligned claims to U.S. podcaster Tucker Carlson.
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Trump urges Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, blames them for global shortage
On 13 September 2026, visiting his Doonbeg golf club during the Irish Open in County Clare, Ireland, US President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel fuel infrastructure, saying those attacks are causing a global diesel shortage. Trump said the deficit stems from the Russia–Ukraine war and not from US actions in the Middle East, and noted he had already discussed the issue with Zelensky. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly disagreed, and a senior European official briefed on US-mediated talks called the reasoning "absurd."
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Ukraine better prepared for winter energy strikes than last year, PM tells YES forum
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky told the YES 2026 conference in Kyiv that Ukraine is significantly better prepared for Russian attacks on energy infrastructure than last winter, while warning that full protection is impossible and the coming months will be difficult. He outlined contingency planning and decentralized support for regions and said the government must prepare for a prolonged war, even if a ceasefire is reached.
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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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Medvedev confirms United Russia's commitment to protracted war in Ukraine
Dmitry Medvedev, head of United Russia and deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in an interview with Vedomosti published on 10 September that Russia must continue the war in Ukraine, pursue long-term militarization of society, and demand increasing economic sacrifices from Russian citizens. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) read the remarks as an official confirmation by United Russia of a protracted-war course ahead of September State Duma elections.
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Trump–Putin call fuels peace hopes as Ukraine reports $27bn shortfall and deep drone strike hits Russia
US President Donald Trump said after a phone call with Vladimir Putin on 8 September that Putin wants a deal to end the war, raising the prospect of bilateral or trilateral leader-level meetings. US, Ukrainian and European officials publicly doubted Putin's seriousness, while Ukraine disclosed it needs an additional $27 billion to get through the year. The diplomatic activity coincided with a Ukrainian drone strike on a facility in Russia's Yamal region, described by Kyiv as its deepest inside Russia since 2022, and Russian attacks on multiple Ukrainian regions that killed at least six people.
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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.
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Three ex-police officers in Ukrainian assault regiment charged with planting drugs on former brigade commander
Three former law-enforcement officers now serving in a Ukrainian assault regiment have been formally notified of suspicion for allegedly planting about 30 packets of cannabis and PVP in the car of Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a former battalion commander in the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade "Mahura," in Kharkiv on the night of 27–28 August 2026. The case has exposed a long-running conflict between Shyrshyn and the commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment, Oleh Shyriaiev, and prompted a service investigation by the 16th Army Corps.
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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns after NABU searches expose alleged call-centre protection scheme
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation on the evening of 7 September after anti-corruption investigators searched the Office of the Prosecutor General and exposed an alleged scheme to protect fraudulent call centres. The 'Carthage' operation by NABU and SAPO has led to the detention of several suspects, including Serhiy Kropyva, a deputy head of an OGP department, with bail set at 120 million hryvnia. President Zelensky said the resignation would be sent to the Verkhovna Rada.
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Ukraine's anti-corruption court remands driver of senior prosecutor in 'Carthage' call-center case
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (ВАКС) on 7 September ordered Serhiy Kutsyi, the driver of Office of the Prosecutor General official Serhiy Kropyva, held in custody until 3 November with an alternative bail of 3 million hryvnias. The ruling is part of the NABU and SAP 'Carthage' special operation, which exposed an alleged criminal organization accused of 'roofing' fraudulent call centers and laundering funds. Earlier in the week, ВАКС remanded Kropyva himself until 2 November with bail of 120 million hryvnias and his cohabitant Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko until November with bail of 20 million hryvnias.
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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns amid 'Carthage' corruption investigation
On the evening of September 7, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation, the same day he had earlier told journalists he would not step down voluntarily. The resignation comes against the backdrop of the NABU and SAP "Carthage" special operation, which exposed an alleged criminal organization within the Office of the Prosecutor General accused of systematically receiving bribes from fraudulent call centers and laundering proceeds.
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Ukraine military intelligence chief calls Kyiv SBU–HUR shooting "unacceptable," denies "war between special services"
Head of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) Oleh Ivashchenko publicly commented on the September 2 shooting between SBU and HUR personnel in Kyiv, calling it an "unacceptable incident" and rejecting suggestions of a "war between special services." The shooting occurred in the Berezniaky district during investigative actions linked to Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov. The SBU and HUR have given competing accounts of the incident, and the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General have opened pretrial investigations.
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Ukraine anti-corruption court remands prosecutor's office official in custody in 'Carthage' case; prosecutors allege ties to prosecutor general
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) placed Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG), in custody with an alternative bail of 120 million hryvnias on 6 September 2026. Kropyva is the central suspect in 'Operation Carthage', an investigation by NABU and SAP into an alleged criminal organization that systematically took bribes from fraudulent call centers and laundered the proceeds. Prosecutors told the court that Kropyva functioned as a "trusted person" of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, coordinating repairs at a house in Kozyn, helping arrange a US visa for Kravchenko's wife, and organizing his birthday celebrations in Madrid. Kravchenko publicly denied any involvement in covering up illegal call centers and suspended Kropyva from his duties.
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Colonel Oleksandr Dmukhovskyi named commander of Ukraine's "small" air defence forces
Ukraine's Air Force has appointed Colonel Oleksandr Dmukhovskyi to head its "small" air defence command, the service's spokesperson said on 5 September. The appointment comes as Russia has sharply scaled up its use of jet-powered attack drones, rising from roughly 350 in June to over 2,800 in August.
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Russian strike hits SBU headquarters in central Kyiv; Radio NV poll finds plurality expecting retaliatory hit on FSB in Moscow
On September 4, Russian forces struck the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) headquarters in central Kyiv. A Radio NV poll of 918 people asked respondents whether they expected a retaliatory strike on the FSB building in Moscow. Nearly half of respondents said they very much expected such a strike, while smaller shares said it would be futile or only symbolic. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the attack a serious escalation, and the SBU said its response would be painful for the enemy.
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NABU and SAP launch 'Carthage' operation targeting prosecutor's office official over alleged call-center scheme
On September 4, Ukraine's NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) announced a special operation codenamed "Carthage" aimed at exposing a criminal organization allegedly led by an official of the Office of the Prosecutor General. The group is suspected of providing cover for a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering assets. According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, Serhiy Kropyva, head of the OPG's cyber department, was detained. The OPG said it is cooperating with investigators and has suspended the suspect.
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Ukraine's 2027 budget has $32.6 billion uncovered financing need, finance minister says
Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the country's 2027 budget faces an uncovered financing need of $32.6 billion — the tightest budget situation since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. He called on European partners to seek additional sources of financing and presented a new proposal to redistribute roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian assets across all 27 EU member states.
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Head of Ukraine's anti-corruption prosecutor's office reveals 'Femida' operation was first code-named 'Disneiland'
SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko said the operation later known as 'Femida' was initially code-named 'Disneiland' because the main suspect was nicknamed 'Miky Maus,' and was split into the 'Forest Gamp' and 'Femida' cases as the scheme developed. The cases target an alleged criminal organization that investigators say included a deputy head of the Office of the President, a former MP, state bank officials and a former head of financial monitoring at Sense Bank, with the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) setting preventive measures for several suspects in August and early September.
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Croatia postpones extradition hearing for Ukrainian in Nord Stream case after Germany adds "war crime" charge
A Croatian court postponed a 4 September hearing on the extradition of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlov to Germany in the Nord Stream sabotage case. The postponement came after German prosecutors updated the European arrest warrant to add a "war crime" qualification to the existing charges. Zhuravlov's defense team, law firm Katerynchuk, Moor and Partners, said the change opens a new stage in fighting for his rights.