Zelenskyy submits motion to parliament to dismiss Prosecutor General Kravchenko

Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), has reported that parliament has received a motion from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking the dismissal of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Source: Stefanchuk on social media; Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction

Quote from Stefanchuk: "The Verkhovna Rada has received a motion from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking parliament's consent to dismiss Ruslan Kravchenko as prosecutor general."

Details: Stefanchuk said the Verkhovna Rada would consider the motion without delay in accordance with the established procedure.

Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, also reported that the motion will be considered by the relevant parliamentary committee within the next few hours, after which it will be put before parliament for consideration in the chamber on 15 September.

Earlier, Arakhamiia said that the Verkhovna Rada planned to consider the issue of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko's resignation in the chamber on Tuesday 15 September.

Previously:

• On the morning of 14 September, Kravchenko said he had signed a notice of suspicion against Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), and accused NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) of unlawfully seizing materials relating to cases against their employees in the course of searches conducted as part of Operation Carthage in order to prevent procedural decisions in those cases.
• Meanwhile, Zelenskyy called on parliament to urgently approve Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko's resignation.
• Ukrainska Pravda reported that according to sources in law enforcement, Kravchenko left Ukraine in an official vehicle on the night of 13-14 September. Kravchenko confirmed that he had travelled abroad but said that he was on a business trip.

Background:

• On 4 September, Ukrainska Pravda reported that NABU and SAPO were conducting searches at the premises of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Mariia Vdovychenko and Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper.
• On 5 September, the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that NABU detectives had conducted searches at official premises "used by Kravchenko".
• NABU and SAPO detained Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the International Legal Cooperation Department at the Prosecutor General's Office.
• On 5 September, NABU and SAPO announced that they had uncovered a criminal organisation headed by a senior official in one of the structural units of the Prosecutor General's Office. Its members are suspected of systematically accepting bribes from sham call centres and money laundering. Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that the official in question was Serhii Kropyva.
• According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, in the course of searches at the premises of Mariia Vdovychenko, First Deputy to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, materials were found indicating that the heads of the anti-corruption agencies, their families and subordinates had been under surveillance.

This news has been updated since publication.

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