The Verkhovna Rada supported the appointment of Ruslan Kravchenko as Prosecutor General of Ukraine by 273 votes. According to our sources, the candidacy of the lawyer, who until recently headed the State Tax Service, was actively promoted by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Oleg Tatarov, who has been repeatedly called the curator of the law enforcement bloc of Bankova Street by the media.
It is precisely because of this shadow support that the appointment raises questions — not only among the public, but also among anti-corruption watchdog specialists. After all, Ruslan Kravchenko has repeatedly been eliminated from open competitions precisely because of integrity issues.
In 2023, Kravchenko participated in the competition for the position of NABU director, but failed to pass the integrity check stage. The key issue is the unclear origin of the apartment in the center of Kyiv, which his wife received in 2014. They officially registered their marriage only in 2019. Another dark spot is the power of attorney for a Lexus car, issued to Kravchenko by his father-in-law. The candidate himself stated during the interview that he did not know about the existence of this document.
During the competitions, special attention was paid to the possible influence of Anatoly Matios, the former chief military prosecutor, on Kravchenko's career. The issue was about obtaining an official apartment, but Kravchenko reacted categorically to the connections with Matios: they said that the contacts were exclusively work-related.
In his speech in parliament, the newly appointed Prosecutor General promised to restore trust in the prosecutor's office, prevent political persecution, and get rid of "nepotism." At the same time, he never once mentioned corruption in the prosecutor's office system, did not outline plans to clean up the bodies or combat fictitious disabilities, which have long become a symbol of abuses in the department.
Kravchenko stated that he “does not represent a political force, but the law,” and promised that under his leadership the prosecutor’s office would not become an instrument of political pressure. He also assured that he has no relatives in the GPU system and will not allow protectionism.
Interestingly, among the key points was a call to deputies to fulfill the promise to increase prosecutors' salaries. In the absence of a specific vision for reforms, this sounded like one of the clearest goals in the speech.
Kravchenko's appointment to the position of Prosecutor General effectively ends the vacancy that has been ongoing since October 2024, following the dismissal of Andriy Kostin. However, experts are already pointing to the risk of further strengthening of the President's Office's political control over the law enforcement system, as Kravchenko previously worked in structures reporting to Bankova and demonstrated loyalty.
In the public sphere, Kravchenko still remains a figure with an ambiguous reputation. And despite loud promises in the Rada, the key question remains open: will he be a real reformer — or just another executor of decisions from Bankova Street?
