Ukraine’s anti‑corruption chief meets Zelensky amid prosecutor general’s resignation and new allegations
Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti‑Corruption Bureau, met President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the scale of illegal call‑center operations. After resigning on September 7, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko filed a suspicion notice accusing Kryvonos of forging official documents and staging an adoption to evade court liability. Zelensky has urged parliament to move quickly to dismiss Kravchenko. Both NABU and the Specialized Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor’s Office describe the accusations as an attempt to undermine independent anti‑corruption institutions, highlighting a clash over Ukraine’s reform agenda.
How this was covered
- Right-leaning outlets covered this 7h later
Why it matters
The dispute could shape Ukraine’s anti‑corruption reforms and affect its eligibility for international assistance.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTAll camps report Kravchenko's resignation and the corruption probe, but left-leaning coverage stresses his move to charge anti-corruption officials, right-leaning coverage stresses Zelensky’s push to remove him and frames the accusations as a political attack on anti-corruption agencies, while centrist coverage sticks to the procedural timeline of resignation, suspension and travel.
LEFT
Left-leaning coverage frames the story as a power struggle in which Kravchenko authorizes criminal charges against anti-corruption chiefs and portrays his resignation as a response to a probe into a call-center bribery scheme.
CENTER
Center coverage frames the story as a factual sequence of events: Kravchenko’s resignation, his suspension by Zelensky, his departure abroad, and the ongoing anti-corruption investigations.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage frames the story as Zelensky’s urgent demand to dismiss Kravchenko and depicts the prosecutor’s accusations against NABU’s head as an attempt to undermine independent anti-corruption institutions.
The left emphasises
- Kravchenko "authorized criminal charges against Semen Kryvonos"
- the probe uncovered a "fraudulent call-center" network
- Kravchenko’s resignation is presented as a "conscious political decision" to avoid "political confrontation"
The right emphasises
- Zelensky "urged parliament to swiftly endorse the ouster"
- Kravchenko’s accusations are described as "another attempt to undermine independent anti-corruption institutions"
- the story highlights the "high-profile anti-corruption investigation" leading to Kravchenko’s resignation
How this story developed
- Aug 30 Ukraine's new defence minister seeks early EU loan by outlining detailed war strategy
- Sep 3 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said Hungary will keep its veto on Ukraine’s fast-track EU accession until Kyiv fulfills the June minority-rights pact.
- Sep 4 Hungary blocked the EU Council’s endorsement of Ukraine’s Cluster 2 and Cluster 3 screening results.
- Sep 6 Kyiv announced it will present a detailed war strategy to partners to seek earlier EU financing.
- Sep 7 Kravchenko denied any link to a criminal group that allegedly shielded fraudulent call centers and laundered millions of hryvnias, a case uncovered by NABU and SAPO on Sept. 4. The investigation led to the detention of deputy international cooperation head Serhii Kropyva, who was remanded until Nov. 2 with a bail set at Hr 120 million. Searches were conducted in Kravchenko’s office, and recordings suggest the “boss” of the scheme is the former State Tax Service chief, identified as Kravchenko himself. He announced that staff handling illegal call-center cases will now undergo polygraph testing. Kravchenko maintains he has not decided to resign and emphasizes the team’s priority over his position.
- Sep 10 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Calgary to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney and later speak to a cabinet in Banff.
- Sep 10 Zelensky added stops in Toronto and North Bay before leaving Friday.
- Sep 10 Zelensky and Carney formalised a declaration of a long‑term partnership covering defence and energy cooperation.
- Sep 11 Hungary set a December 2026 deadline for Ukraine to adopt education‑law guarantees for the Hungarian minority.
- Sep 11 Ukrainian intelligence now reports that daily Russian casualties regularly exceed recruitment capacity.
- Sep 12 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe formally requested that frozen Russian central‑bank assets be redirected to Ukraine for reparations.
- Sep 12 A declaration establishing a 100‑year partnership was signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
- Sep 12 The German chancellor’s meeting brought frugal leaders together and featured Draghi’s call for higher borrowing, adding a new dimension to the budget dispute.
- Sep 14 Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned on September 7.
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