Zelensky’s disgraced prosecutor general turns on anti-graft agencies

Ruslan Kravchenko has hit back at Western-backed investigators after fleeing Ukraine Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who tendered his resignation last week over a major corruption scandal in his office, has announced formal accusations targeting Western-backed anti-graft agencies that exposed the wrongdoing.

The news marks another turn in Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s long-running feud with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which have targeted multiple figures in his inner circle since last November.

Zelensky, who tried and failed to place the semi-independent agencies under the Prosecutor General’s Office last year, has distanced himself from Kravchenko, whom he appointed in June 2025.

The prosecutor general is currently out of the country.

Why did the prosecutor general resign? Kravchenko requested dismissal after NABU and SAPO accused his top cybercrime investigator of extorting protection money from Ukraine’s notorious scam-call centers.

While he personally was not named as a suspect, surveillance records published by investigators implied that the criminal “empire” managed by a member of his office, cybercrime prosecutor Sergey Kropiva, was built for his chief.

Read more Call of corruption: What you should know about Ukraine’s billion-dollar scam industry milked by Zelensky’s government While the prosecutor general asked to be relieved of his duties, his departure needs to be confirmed by the parliament.

Kravchenko denied any wrongdoing.

In a video statement released on Monday, he accused NABU and SAPO of forcing him out to shield their own personnel from prosecution.

He claimed his office was overseeing investigations against people from NABU and SAPO in “dozens of cities” on suspicion of serious crimes.

What are the accusations? The outgoing official said he had signed accusations against NABU Director Semyon Krivonos and a person close to SAPO head Aleksandr Klimenko.

Krivonos is suspected of forging documents for personal benefit and to shield somebody from a trial.

The person close to Klimenko – his wife Aleksandra, some Ukrainian sources said – was accused by Kravchenko of bribing judges serving in Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court.

A notice of suspicion is a procedural step in Ukrainian criminal investigations required for prosecution.