Ruslan Kravchenko left the country before publishing a video accusing NABU and SAPO and stating that he had signed a notice of suspicion against Semen Kryvonos. After journalists reported that he had crossed the border in the middle of the night, Kravchenko posted on Facebook saying he was “on a business trip”.
As part of this trip, the Prosecutor General—who submitted his resignation more than a week ago—plans meetings to “inform international partners about the real state of affairs in the anti-corruption bodies, signs that they are concentrating unchecked influence, and the risks such a practice creates for state sovereignty, the rule of law and Ukraine’s democratic institutions”. He did not specify whom exactly he intended to brief.
According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in law enforcement agencies, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko left the country overnight. Journalist Mykhailo Tkach reported that, according to the newsroom’s interlocutors, the still-serving Prosecutor General crossed the border at 2:30 a.m. in an official vehicle. The Anti-Corruption Action Centre had also reported the departure earlier.
According to journalists, Kravchenko used a business trip to Lithuania as the basis for crossing the border.
At around 8 a.m. on 14 September, the Prosecutor General’s Office published a video address by Ruslan Kravchenko in which he said he had signed a notice of suspicion against Semen Kryvonos over an alleged forgery of documents to obtain an unlawful benefit. He also said he had signed a notice of suspicion against a close associate of the head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. He further claimed that during searches NABU and SAPO had allegedly stolen investigative materials relating to employees of those bodies.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the Verkhovna Rada to vote as soon as possible on Kravchenko’s resignation following the statement.
NABU said that as of now, Kryvonos has not been served with a notice of suspicion, and that they view the Prosecutor General’s statements as a continuation of pressure that intensified a year ago, beginning with attempts to bring them under the control of the Prosecutor General’s Office.