Former Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns from prosecution service after failing to return to Ukraine

Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko was dismissed from Ukraine's prosecution service on Sept. 21 after submitting a resignation request, the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Although President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Kravchenko as prosecutor general on Sept. 15, he had formally remained a prosecutor within the Prosecutor General's Office under Ukrainian law.

Kravchenko submitted a request on Sept. 21 to leave the prosecution service entirely, Prosecutor General's Office spokesperson Mariana Haiovska told journalists. The acting prosecutor general signed an order approving his dismissal the same day.

Haiovska said Kravchenko had not returned to work after his official foreign business trip ended on Sept. 18.

"After the end of his business trip, Ruslan Kravchenko, as a prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office, did not begin performing his official duties," she said.

Earlier on Sept. 21, Haiovska said Kravchenko had not returned to work at the Prosecutor General’s Office as of 2 p.m. She added that she had no information on whether he had returned to Ukraine or where he was. Sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda later said Kravchenko had not crossed the Ukrainian border on his return as of Sept. 21.

Kravchenko left Ukraine in a government vehicle overnight on Sept. 14, according to Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement. He subsequently said he was traveling on official business.

A directive signed by Kravchenko listed a five-day trip to Paris to attend a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe event concerning Ukrainian children, although his name did not appear among the listed participants in the event agenda.

His departure came amid a confrontation involving the Prosecutor General's Office and Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies.

Kravchenko submitted his resignation as prosecutor general on Sept. 7 amid an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) into allegations that officials within the Prosecutor General's Office had protected fraudulent call centers. Kravchenko denied wrongdoing.

On Sept. 14, Kravchenko claimed that he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and accused NABU and SAPO of taking materials related to investigations of their employees during searches connected to Operation Carthage.

The Prosecutor General's Office later said Kravchenko's claim that Kryvonos had been formally notified of suspicion was not true. Kryvonos also said he had not received such a document.

Zelensky suspended Kravchenko from the prosecutor general's post on Sept. 14. Parliament approved his dismissal the following day by 317 votes to none, after which Zelensky formally dismissed him.