Read NV on Google
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko (Photo: Ruslan Kravchenko / Facebook)
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko addressed Ukrainian lawmakers ahead of their vote on his dismissal, stating that he would “accept any decision, but it must not be an order from the president,” according to a statement he made on September 15.
“I am grateful to the Verkhovna Rada for its trust and will respectfully accept any decision it makes regarding my dismissal today,” Kravchenko’s statement read. “However, it must be a decision made by parliament itself – not an order from the president, not a request from the head of parliament, not a hysterical demand from the chiefs of anti-corruption agencies who – along with their inner circles – are themselves implicated in corrupt activities, and certainly not the result of the political and media pressure they have orchestrated.”
Kravchenko maintained that the charges he filed against National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) Director Semen Kryvonos were “lawful and well-founded” and that their subsequent withdrawal resulted from political pressure, again calling on lawmakers to vote independently without outside instructions.
Kravchenko stated that he had fulfilled his promise to parliament, asserting that he “did not sign a single politically motivated procedural decision.”
“Kravchenko is the only prosecutor general who was not afraid of immense political and media pressure and served the head of the NABU with a thoroughly substantiated notice of suspicion,” he asserted, referring to himself in the third person.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted 317–0 on September 15 to approve the resignation of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, completing his removal from office.
The charges against Kryvonos
Outgoing Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko filed criminal charges against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos on September 14.
Kravchenko claimed that he suspected Kryvonos of forging official documents “to secure a particularly large illicit benefit.” The disgraced prosecutor general alleged that during Operation Carthage and related searches, NABU obtained access to case files on the leadership of anti-corruption agencies during their corruption probe.
Semen Kryvonos hit back, stating that he has not yet been formally charged and calling the case against him fabricated. NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) described Kravchenko’s statements and actions as a “continuation of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption institutions,” adding that no official charges had been filed.
Zelenskyy responded by saying Kravchenko had only one option remaining – dismissal from office – and called on the Ukrainian Parliament to support his resignation.
Kravchenko recorded a video address before fleeing the country, using a scheduled business trip to Lithuania as his justification.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
