Kravchenko Resigns from Prosecution After Failing to Return
Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko formally left the service after missing his return from a trip to Paris.
Key points
- Ruslan Kravchenko resigned from the prosecution service on September 21 after failing to return from a trip to Paris.
- Kravchenko was previously dismissed as Prosecutor General by Parliament with 317 votes to none following a dispute with anti-corruption agencies.
- Officials stated they had no information on his location, while sources indicated he had not crossed the Ukrainian border.
Ruslan Kravchenko has been formally dismissed from Ukraine’s prosecution service following a failure to resume official duties. Although President Volodymyr Zelensky removed him from the position of Prosecutor General on September 15, Kravchenko technically remained a prosecutor within the office until submitting a final resignation request on September 21.
The dismissal order was signed by the acting prosecutor general on the same day the resignation was filed. According to Prosecutor General’s Office spokesperson Mariana Haiovska, Kravchenko did not begin performing his official duties after his foreign business trip concluded on September 18. The move marks the final administrative step in his exit from the legal system.
Uncertainty Surrounding Physical Location
Haiovska stated that there was no information available regarding whether Kravchenko had returned to Ukraine or where he was located as of 2 p.m. on September 21. Sources cited by Kyiv Independent later indicated that he had not crossed the Ukrainian border on his return. This lack of clarity adds a layer of speculation to the formal administrative process.
Kravchenko had left Ukraine overnight on September 14 in a government vehicle, claiming the travel was for official business. A directive signed by him listed a five-day trip to Paris for a Council of Europe event concerning Ukrainian children. However, his name did not appear among the listed participants in the event agenda, raising questions about the nature of the visit.
Escalating Conflict with Anti-Corruption Agencies
The departure occurred amid a sharp confrontation between the Prosecutor General’s Office and Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies. Kravchenko initially submitted his resignation as Prosecutor General on September 7 while an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office was underway. The probe looked into allegations that officials within the prosecution service had protected fraudulent call centers, a claim Kravchenko denied.
On September 14, Kravchenko claimed he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. He accused anti-corruption agencies of seizing materials related to internal investigations during searches linked to Operation Carthage. The Prosecutor General’s Office later clarified that the claim about Kryvonos being formally notified was untrue, and Kryvonos confirmed he had not received such a document.
Parliamentary Vote and Final Dismissal
Zelensky suspended Kravchenko from the post on September 14, leading to a parliamentary vote the following day. Lawmakers approved his dismissal by 317 votes to none, after which the president formally removed him from the role. The final resignation from the broader prosecution service on September 21 concludes his official tenure within the state’s legal apparatus.
Observers will now watch for any further legal actions or public statements from Kravchenko regarding the circumstances of his travel and dismissal. The situation also highlights ongoing tensions between executive authority and independent anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine.
