By Benson Daniel
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has submitted his resignation amid a corruption investigation involving officials in his office, as Russia resumed large scale missile and drone attacks on Kyiv following a brief pause during a visit by US peace envoys.
Kravchenko announced his decision on Monday, saying he did not want the office of prosecutor general to become an instrument of political confrontation. He described the resignation as a conscious political decision and asked President Volodymyr Zelensky and parliament to accept it.
The resignation came days after Ukraine’s anti corruption authorities launched an investigation into an alleged criminal organisation operating from within the Prosecutor General’s Office. Investigators from the National Anti Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the network allegedly protected fraudulent call centres in exchange for payments and helped launder millions of hryvnias.
Several people have been implicated in the investigation, including Serhii Kropyva, a deputy head of the Prosecutor General’s Office’s international cooperation department. A court has ordered him to remain in custody while the investigation continues, with bail set at 120 million hryvnias.
Kravchenko’s office was among the locations searched as part of the investigation. However, the prosecutor general has denied involvement in the alleged scheme and maintained that the accusations against him have not been substantiated.
The resignation adds to a series of political and institutional changes that have affected Ukraine’s leadership in recent months. Zelensky has faced growing pressure to demonstrate that the government is capable of tackling corruption while the country remains engaged in its war with Russia.
The political uncertainty coincided with renewed Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
Russian forces launched a major overnight barrage involving drones and missiles after a temporary three day reduction in attacks during the visit of US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Kyiv and Moscow. Ukrainian officials said the attacks killed at least two people and injured about 10 others.
Several districts of Kyiv were hit, with residential and non residential buildings damaged and fires reported across the city. Emergency workers also carried out rescue operations at damaged buildings.
Ukrainian authorities said their air defences intercepted a large number of Russian missiles and drones, although several locations across the country were still struck.
The attacks also affected other Ukrainian regions, including Odesa and Kharkiv, as Moscow demonstrated its continued ability to launch large scale aerial assaults despite renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.
Ukrainian officials condemned the timing of the strikes, saying Russia resumed its attacks shortly after the American envoys left the country. Kyiv has continued to press its allies for additional air defence systems and missile interceptors as it prepares for another difficult winter.
The latest developments underline the pressure facing Zelensky’s government on both the military and political fronts. While diplomatic discussions have raised hopes of renewed negotiations with Moscow, Ukraine continues to face heavy attacks while dealing with internal disputes and corruption investigations.
Kravchenko’s resignation must still be formally accepted through Ukraine’s constitutional process. His departure is likely to intensify scrutiny of the government’s handling of corruption at a time when maintaining public confidence remains crucial to the country’s war effort.
Leave a comment