Ukraine's prosecutor general leaves country after charging anti-corruption chief

Night border crossing and official explanation

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko departed Ukraine by official vehicle at 2:30 AM on Monday during the night between Sunday and Monday. Law enforcement sources reported that Kravchenko used an official working visit to Lithuania as the pretext for crossing the state border. Following his departure, Kravchenko issued a public statement via Telegram explaining that his travel was part of an international delegation. He stated that he intended to hold meetings with foreign partners to present what he described as the real situation within Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies.

I am currently on a foreign delegation with a series of scheduled meetings to inform international partners about the real state of affairs in the anti-corruption system, signs of their concentration of uncontrolled influence, and the threats this practice poses to state sovereignty, the rule of law, and democratic institutions in Ukraine.

Criminal charges against anti-corruption leadership

On the same morning, Kravchenko announced formal notices of suspicion against senior anti-corruption figures, stating that the Prosecutor General's Office oversees dozens of criminal proceedings involving grave offences by NABU and SAP personnel. The primary notice targeted Semen Kryvonos, the director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Kravchenko accused Kryvonos of forging official documents for substantial financial gain and setting up a fictitious adoption to avoid judicial liability. He also approved a notice of suspicion against an associate of SAP head Oleksandr Klymenko regarding alleged pressure on High Anti-Corruption Court judges and evasion of military mobilization. Kravchenko stated that he had previously rejected offers of personal immunity that were conditioned on not signing these notices.

I signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. I suspect him of forging official documents to obtain an improper financial benefit in a particularly large amount and fictitious adoption to artificially create grounds for avoiding court liability.

President Zelensky calls for immediate dismissal

In response to the dispute, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the Verkhovna Rada to vote urgently to remove Kravchenko from office. Kravchenko had previously submitted a resignation request on 8 September following investigations by NABU and SAP, but Zelensky had initially decided that he should remain in his position. On Monday, the president reversed his position and demanded an immediate vote to formalize the dismissal. In response, NABU and SAP released a joint communication characterizing Kravchenko's actions as a continuation of a systematic campaign against independent anti-corruption institutions.

This prosecutor general has only one path: leaving office. That is exactly what I told him. Ukraine has seen all the reasons. If he considers this political pressure, let him call it that. I ask the deputies to urgently support this dismissal.

Background of Operation Carthage

The institutional dispute connects directly to law enforcement actions targeting fraudulent call centres across Ukraine. In August, joint operations by national police, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and prosecutors uncovered 94 fake call centres, seized over $2 million, and dismantled 1,794 operator workstations. In early September, Zelensky submitted two legislative proposals to parliament to increase criminal penalties for fraudulent call centres and bank card fraud. On 5 September, NABU and SAP announced an investigation into a criminal organisation allegedly led by a unit head in the Prosecutor General's Office to protect scam call centres in exchange for systematic bribes. Kravchenko linked these developments to Operation Carthage, asserting that investigators searched his office and copied confidential case files to force his removal.