Zelenskyy urges parliament to oust prosecutor general over graft turmoil

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged parliament Monday to move quickly on ousting Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, as a series of graft investigations pushed tensions to a new high.

Kravchenko submitted his resignation last week, calling it a “conscious political decision,” after a corruption investigation reached his office. Investigators have accused one of his subordinates of running a fraud scheme, though Kravchenko himself has not been charged or named a suspect.

Various corruption scandals have hurt Zelenskyy’s approval ratings at a time when Ukraine is still fighting for survival against Russia’s 4 1/2-year full-scale invasion.

On Monday, Kravchenko said he had issued a formal notice of investigation of Semen Kryvonos, who leads the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), one of the agencies that had examined his office’s conduct.

Kravchenko also posted a video on Telegram accusing Kryvonos of using fraudulent means to escape accountability for a corruption-related offense dating back to 2008.

Kravchenko’s announcement that he was traveling abroad while his future was being decided drew public criticism. He responded on Telegram that the trip includes meetings with international partners, where he plans to raise concerns about “unchecked influence” within Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies.

NABU and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which jointly pursued the case that prompted Kravchenko’s resignation, said in a joint statement Monday that they view Kravchenko’s claims as a continuation of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies, one they said began last summer when an active push emerged to subordinate NABU and SAPO to the the Prosecutor General’s Office.

They also said that Kryvonos was not served any notice that he was being investigated.

“The statements of the prosecutor general, who recently resigned, are currently public in nature and carry no legal weight,” their statement said.

Zelenskyy submitted a formal request to parliament Monday.

“This prosecutor general has only one path ahead: dismissal from office. That is exactly what I told him,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “Ukraine has seen all the reasons why. If he wants to call it political pressure, he’s free to call it that. I am asking members of parliament to support this dismissal without delay.”