Ukraine's prosecutor general flees the country
Ukraine's prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko, who submitted his resignation, urgently left the country's territory on the night of September 14, 2026.
According to law enforcement agencies and media sources, at around 2:30 a.m. he crossed the border in an official vehicle, using a foreign business trip to Lithuania as the formal grounds.
Later, Kravchenko confirmed his departure, stating on his Telegram channel that he is on a foreign business trip, during which he intends to inform international partners about the "risks created by the uncontrolled influence of anti-corruption bodies."
A parting blow: suspicions against the leadership of NABU and SAP
This step was preceded by an unprecedented bureaucratic demarche. On the morning of September 14, Kravchenko published a video address in which he stated that he had signed indictments (notices of suspicion) against the director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Semen Kryvonos and a person close to the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) Oleksandr Klymenko (according to parliamentarians and the media, this refers to the wife of the head of the SAP).
The outgoing prosecutor general accused the head of NABU of forging official documents, receiving especially large-scale improper benefits, and fictitious adoption in order to avoid liability in court. In addition, Kravchenko stated that during the recent special operation of the anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAP employees had allegedly illegally copied and removed materials from secret criminal cases that were being conducted against the employees of these structures themselves.
Operation "Carthage" and the background of the conflict
The acute conflict between the Office of the Prosecutor General and the independent anti-corruption institutions entered an open phase on September 4, when NABU and SAP conducted a large-scale operation called "Carthage." As part of the investigation, a criminal organization headed by one of the heads of structural units of the OGP was exposed (according to media reports, this refers to the deputy head of the department Serhiy Kropyva). This structure was engaged in providing protection for an extensive network of fraudulent call centers in Ukraine and in legalizing illegal income. Searches were conducted at the home of Kravchenko himself and of his first deputy, at whose home, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ACC), materials on surveillance of NABU and SAP employees were found.
Against the backdrop of this scandal, on September 7 Kravchenko submitted his resignation letter, but the issue of his dismissal was dragged out. In anti-corruption circles and at the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the prosecutor general's nighttime departure and his loud accusations were regarded as a planned action: according to critics, Kravchenko signed fabricated notices of suspicion in exchange for being allowed to leave the country unimpeded.
The reaction of NABU, SAP and the tough position of Volodymyr Zelensky
NABU and SAP categorically rejected the accusations of the outgoing prosecutor general, calling them a continuation of the systemic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies that has been waged since last summer with the aim of subordinating them to the prosecutor's office. The agencies emphasized that no official notices of suspicion had been served on Semen Kryvonos.
Amid the rapidly developing crisis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a tough stance toward the head of the Prosecutor General's Office, publishing a concise and uncompromising statement on his Telegram channel: "This Prosecutor General has only one path: dismissal from office.
That is exactly what I told him. Ukraine has seen all the reasons. If he considers this political pressure, let him call it that. I ask the parliamentarians to support this dismissal without delay."
The head of the faction of the ruling party "Servant of the People" David Arakhamia confirmed that the question of Ruslan Kravchenko's resignation will be put to a vote in the Verkhovna Rada on September 15.
