Zelensky fires Ukraine prosecutor general amid bribe claims

President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Ukraine's prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko on Monday amid accusations that Kravchenko took bribes, allegations he denies.

Zelensky announced the dismissal in a government decree and said on Telegram that “there is only one option for the prosecutor general: dismissal”. He called on lawmakers to approve the decision “without delay”.

Kravchenko said on Telegram that he is currently outside Ukraine and has started legal action against the head of the national anti-corruption bureau, NABU, accusing him of “falsifying official documents”.

NABU investigators raided the prosecutor general's offices this month. The bureau said it had uncovered a network that made payments in return for protecting fraudulent call centres that had “laundered fortunes”. It said the money was used to buy property, jewellery and other valuables.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime says scam call centres in Ukraine employ 60,000 people and can generate up to $1 billion in revenue each month.

Kravchenko said he would inform Ukraine's international partners about what he called the true situation in the anti-corruption authorities, signs of an uncontrolled concentration of influence and risks to state sovereignty.

Corruption has been a longstanding problem in Ukraine, with several major scandals since Russia's 2022 invasion, including within the army. Zelensky tried in 2025 to put the independent anti-corruption bureau under the control of the prosecutor general, but reversed course after public protests and concerns from allied countries.