Ukrainian Domestic — 2026-09-18

Zelensky Appoints New Chief Prosecutor After Predecessor Corruption Scandal

BLUFKovalskyi's acting status is unlikely to change before mid-December, giving Zelensky a pliant prosecutor general while politically sensitive anti-corruption cases remain live.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Thursday appointing Anton Kovalskyi, 42, head of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Prosecutor's Office, as acting prosecutor general 123. He replaces Ruslan Kravchenko, who resigned September 7 after NABU and SAPO searched his office over an alleged scheme protecting scam call centers and laundering assets through property and jewelry purchases 1. Kravchenko denied the allegations, left Ukraine for what he called an official trip to Paris, and on September 14 signed a notice of suspicion against NABU chief Semen Kryvonos, accusing anti-corruption investigators of stealing case files during the searches 23. NABU and SAPO directly disputed this, stating no suspicion notice was ever officially served on Kryvonos and that no case materials were seized, calling Kravchenko's allegations inconsistent with reality 23. Parliament voted to approve his dismissal on September 15, and Zelensky signed the removal decree that evening, leaving the prosecutor general's post unfilled for several days before Kovalskyi's appointment 23.

Analysis
Kovalskyi's appointment as acting prosecutor general ends the multi-day vacancy that followed Kravchenko's dismissal, but leaves anti-corruption cases against Yermak and other insiders under leadership with no independent mandate to resist political pressure at the height of the NABU/SAPO confrontation. Confirmation as permanent prosecutor general is unlikely before mid-December, since Zelensky retains martial-law authority to keep an acting appointee in place indefinitely and has shown no urgency to seek Rada ratification. Moderate confidence reflects convergent reporting on the appointment mechanics but limited visibility into Bankova's actual confirmation timeline, and the reporting itself rests on a single primary account from Ukrainska Pravda republished rather than independently verified by other outlets. Zelensky may be deliberately prolonging the acting designation to retain personal leverage over the office rather than facing parliamentary delay, and continued acting status forces Western partners conditioning aid or visa liberalization on anti-corruption reform to weigh ongoing executive control over the post.
4 sources
  1. Zelensky appoints new chief prosecutor after predecessor corruption scandal - BBC News
  2. Zelenskyy appoints Khmelnytskyi Oblast chief prosecutor Anton Kovalskyi as acting prosecutor general - Ukrainska Pravda
  3. Zelensky appoints Ukraine's acting prosecutor general - TASS
  4. Zelensky Picks New Prosecutor After Kravchenko Scandal - Kyiv Post

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