Zelenskyy Ousts Prosecutor General Amid Anti-Corruption Probe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on September 14, 2026, via Decree No. 905/2026. The ouster followed Operation Carthage, a September 4 investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) into a criminal network within the Prosecutor General’s Office that allegedly protected fraudulent call centers.

Kravchenko had submitted his resignation on September 7 after NABU detained his deputy, Serhii Kropyva. However, before his formal removal, Kravchenko retaliated by signing notices of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and an associate of SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko. He accused Kryvonos of document forgery and a fictitious adoption to evade legal liability. NABU and SAPO rejected these claims, describing them as a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies.

Shortly after his dismissal, Kravchenko left Ukraine in an official vehicle. While his office claimed he traveled to Lithuania and Paris for business and Council of Europe hearings, the departure occurred amid an escalating showdown with the presidency. Zelenskyy had previously urged parliament to act swiftly, stating that removal from office was the only path for the prosecutor general.