Who will head the Prosecutor General’s Office: three candidates and a favourite
24 October 2024 07:21
EXCLUSIVE
Following the resignation of Andriy Kostin, the position of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has become one of the most discussed in political circles. According to [Komersant], it is most likely that Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, will be appointed to the post of head of the Prosecutor General’s Office. His candidacy for this position was approved by the Bankova Street back in May this year.
Kravchenko is the favourite among all the other likely candidates to head the PGO, of which there are three in total.
“He is a compromise figure both in terms of votes in the Rada and the position of Ukraine’s Western partners,” the source said
in the Cabinet of Ministers.
At the same time, two other candidates are also being considered for the post of head of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
These are Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military District, and Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The latter became Andriy Yermak’s deputy in March, replacing Andriy Smirnov, who was dismissed due to scandals. She is currently credited with the ratification of the Rome Statute by Ukraine. Prior to her appointment to the OP, Mudra served as Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine (2022-2024).
As for Oleh Kiper, rumours about his appointment to the PGO were among the first to emerge. However, according to the publication’s sources, Bankova had to abandon the prospect of his appointment several months ago due to the resistance of international partners.
“There were questions about him. The West considers Kiper to be close to Yermak. On the one hand. On the other hand, he was lustrated, although he successfully appealed this decision in the courts. And there are not enough votes for him in the parliament,” the source said
What is known about Ruslan Kravchenko
Ruslan Kravchenko was born in 1990 in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region. In 2007, he graduated from the Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum in Kyiv, and in 2012, he received a law degree from the Yaroslav the Wise National Law University, where he was promoted to lieutenant of justice.
Kravchenko began his career in the prosecution service in 2012 as a supervisory investigator at the Sevastopol Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2014-2015, he took part in the anti-terrorist operation under contract as a prosecutor of the 33rd Military Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region of Ukraine in Debaltseve and Bakhmut.
For his participation in hostilities, he was granted the status of a combatant, and in 2020 he was discharged from military service in the reserve.
In 2015-2017, Ruslan Kravchenko worked as a prosecutor in the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. In particular, he was a prosecutor in the case where fugitive Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was found guilty of treason and aiding and abetting war.
In 2019-2020, Kravchenko served as the Deputy Military Prosecutor of the Central Region of Ukraine, and from 2020 to 2021, he was the Head of the Department for Criminal Proceedings on Crimes in the Defence Industry of the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office in the Military and Defence Sphere of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
In 2021-2023, he headed the Bucha District Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv region.
In 2023, Ruslan Kravchenko took part in the competition for the position of Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
In April 2023, by presidential decree, Kravchenko was appointed head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.
Currently, Ruslan Kravchenko continues to hold the position of the Head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.
