Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko Leaves for Lithuania amid 'Cartagina' Clash

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko left the country overnight in an official vehicle and traveled to Lithuania, Ukrainian outlets reported citing police sources. Authorities recorded his departure as a pre-planned business trip, though the move comes amid a widening confrontation with the country's anti-corruption bodies.

Background and immediate trigger

Kravchenko had submitted his resignation a week earlier after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) launched an operation dubbed "Cartagina," an inquiry into an alleged criminal group inside the Office of the Prosecutor General accused of protecting a network of fraudulent call centres.

According to reports, Kravchenko crossed the border at about 2:30 a.m.; officials listed the reason for travel as an official trip to Lithuania. His resignation has not yet taken formal effect because the Ukrainian parliament must approve his dismissal.

Hours before leaving the country, Kravchenko said he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU director Semen Kryvonos. He alleged that Kryvonos falsified official documents to gain a particularly large unlawful benefit and orchestrated a fictitious adoption to create grounds for evading legal responsibility. Kravchenko also announced a separate case against a person close to SAPO chief Oleksandr Klimenko, accusing that person of an attempted bribe of judges at the High Anti-Corruption Court and of aiding in avoidance of mobilization.

NABU and SAPO rejected Kravchenko's assertions, saying Kryvonos had not been formally served with any notice of suspicion and denying that NABU had taken control of the criminal cases Kravchenko referenced. The anti-corruption bodies characterized Kravchenko's actions as a continuation of a "systemic attack" on their independence.

On September 4, NABU and SAPO announced they had uncovered an alleged criminal group tied to the Prosecutor General's Office that was taking bribes from fraudulent call centres to allow their operations to continue; investigators said some proceeds were laundered through purchases of real estate and other assets. A senior official from the prosecutor's office was arrested in connection with that inquiry. Kravchenko has denied any involvement.

After meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 7, Kravchenko submitted his resignation and several senior prosecutors were subsequently removed. The confrontation escalated further following Kravchenko's moves against the heads of the anti-corruption institutions.

President Zelensky said Kravchenko could no longer remain in office. "There is only one path for this Prosecutor General: leaving the office. That's exactly what I told him," Zelensky said. The Anti-Corruption Action Centre (ANTAC) claimed Kravchenko's departure had been permitted in exchange for signing the notice against Kryvonos and asserted that consent from authorities had been required for him to leave. There is no public evidence yet to substantiate that claim.

Photo: press material from the event