Zelenskyy suspends Ruslan Kravchenko as prosecutor general

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree suspending Ruslan Kravchenko as prosecutor general.

Source: the decree on Zelenskyy's website

Quote: "Pursuant to Article 11.2 of the Law of Ukraine 'On the Legal Regime of Martial Law', I hereby order: Ruslan Kravchenko shall be suspended as prosecutor general."

Details: The decree is dated 14 September.

For reference: Under current legislation, during martial law, the president of Ukraine may decide to suspend an official from their position if the appointment and dismissal of that official fall within the president's powers, and assign another person to perform their duties for the relevant period.

Background:

• On 7 September, amid an investigation by Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, Kravchenko submitted his resignation as prosecutor general.
• 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.
• 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 an official trip.
• A copy of the prosecutor general's order dated 13 September, seen by Ukrainska Pravda, states that Kravchenko has left for Paris for five days "to take part in PACE hearings on Ukrainian children". However, according to the agenda for these PACE-led hearings, Kravchenko's name does not appear on the list of participants in the discussion.
• Meanwhile, Zelenskyy called on parliament to urgently approve Kravchenko's resignation.
• Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), has reported that parliament has received a motion from Zelenskyy seeking Kravchenko's dismissal. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement has approved the motion.

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