Presidential Office disavows Kravchenko's charges against NABU chief

"He has lost his mind. Perhaps he panicked," an agency interlocutor inside Presidential Office remarked regarding Kravchenko's decision to issue notices of suspicion to National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) Director Semen Kryvonos and an associate of Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Head Oleksandr Klymenko.

Additional sources close to the head of state reaffirmed this assessment, RBC-Ukraine reported. A source within the Presidential Office told NV that Kravchenko's legal gambits are nonsensical, will be reversed, and that Kravchenko was personally informed of this by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kravchenko announced the formal suspicion notice against Kryvonos earlier, alleging that during anti-corruption searches conducted under Operation Carthage, investigators accessed classified materials, with several documents reportedly copied and unlawfully removed. Kravchenko claimed that Zelenskyy earlier restrained him from taking legal action.

Zelenskyy forcefully refuted this framing, stating that he explicitly instructed Kravchenko to step down:

"This prosecutor general has only one path forward: dismissal from office," the president stated.

"That is precisely what I told him. Ukraine has seen all the grounds. If he views this as political pressure, let him call it that. I ask parliamentarians to support this dismissal without delay."

In addition to targeting Kryvonos, Kravchenko announced suspicion notices against an individual close to SAPO Head Oleksandr Klymenko for alleged "unlawful influence over the head of the High Anti-Corruption Court, offering an improper advantage, and facilitating mobilization evasion."

The dramatic moves coincided with Kravchenko abruptly leaving the country:

Midnight border crossing: Ukrainska Pravda investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Kravchenko crossed the Ukrainian border in an official vehicle at 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 14. Kravchenko confirmed the crossing, claiming he was departing on an authorized "business trip abroad."

Operation Carthage: NABU operation targets a sprawling criminal syndicate that provided institutional protection to illicit call-center fraud networks. According to NABU investigators, the operation was orchestrated by senior Prosecutor General’s Office official Serhii Kropyva.

Resignation announcement: On Sept. 7, Kravchenko publicly claimed he tendered his resignation amid mounting public reports linking him to illicit schemes.