London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026

Ukraine appoints prosecutor general, new anti-corruption chief

Ukraine appoints prosecutor general, new anti-corruption chief

Volodymyr Zelenskyy had fired the previous prosecutor general two weeks ago.

As part of his first major shakeup of Ukrainian law enforcement officials since the start of the Russian aggression, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday appointed a new prosecutor general. The move in turn paved the way for the immediate appointment of a new anti-corruption prosecutor, which was part of Kyiv’s obligations to its Western backers.

The new prosecutor general is 49-year-old Andriy Kostin, who had served as an MP for Zelenskyy’s parliamentary faction.

The appointment came two weeks after Zelenskyy fired the previous prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, as well as the chief of the nation’s main security service (SBU), Ivan Bakanov, citing their inability to root out Russian agents who had infiltrated Ukrainian law enforcement.

Hundreds of investigations have been started into treason and Russian collaboration involving employees of prosecutor’s offices, pre-trial investigation bodies and other law enforcement agencies, Zelenskyy said at the time.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy said during a meeting with Kostin that the most important task for the prosecutor’s office was “to bring to justice all Russian war criminals who came to our land and did everything that, unfortunately, we and our children know in detail.”

Kostin said that no crime committed by the aggressor country would go unpunished, according to Zelenskyy’s office.

Immediately after his appointment, Kostin green-lighted Oleksandr Klymenko to become the head of the nation’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s office — a body created with the aim of supervising high-level corruption investigations.

The anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, which was created in 2015 as part of Kyiv’s commitments to Western backers to tackle endemic corruption in the country, had remained without a head for almost two years.

Klymenko, 35, is a former detective at the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), another law enforcement agency created under Western pressure with the aim of investigating corruption cases in which influential politicians and businessmen could be involved.

Andriy Yermak, chief of the presidential staff, said Thursday that an independent anti-corruption infrastructure is “an important component of democracy” in Ukraine. “The fight against corruption is a priority for our country, as our investment attractiveness and business freedom depend on its success,” he added.

In June, immediately after the EU granted Ukraine candidate status, Yermak said that the fight against corruption is on Brussels’ long list of demands that must be met by Kyiv as it begins negotiations to join the bloc.

According to Yermak, the appointment of the head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office was among the priorities that the Ukrainian leadership had agreed with Brussels.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Lord Mandelson Condemns Arrest as Driven by ‘Baseless Suggestion’ He Would Flee Abroad
Former UK Ambassador Released on Bail Following Arrest in Epstein-Linked Investigation
UK Parliament Orders Release of Former Prince Andrew’s Government Vetting Files
Reddit Fined £14 Million by UK Regulator Over Failures in Age Verification Controls
UK Moves to Tighten Regulation of Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video Under New Media Rules
British Woman Who Reported Rape in Hong Kong Faces Possible Prosecution
'Christianity is the religion that has made this country great.'
Man Receives Parking Ticket 38 Years After Offense: ‘City Officials Said It’s Legitimate’
Woman Receives Gift Card for Christmas – Discovers It Is ‘Worth’ 63,000,000,000,000,000 Pounds
UK Sanctions New Zealand Insurer Maritime Mutual Following Allegations Over Russian Oil Cover
Reform MP Danny Kruger Condemns UK’s ‘Unregulated Sexual Economy’ in Call for Tougher Controls
The Show Must Go On: Prince William and Kate Middleton Shine at the BAFTAs Amid Andrew’s Arrest
UK Sanctions Russian ‘Illicit Oil Traders’ After Email Blunder Exposes Sanctions Evasion Network
Russia Amplifies Baseless Claims That UK and France Plan to Arm Ukraine with Nuclear Weapons
UK Imposes Sanctions on Two Georgian Television Channels Over Alleged Russian Disinformation
United States National Parks See Noticeable Drop in Visitors from Canada, U.K. and Australia
UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand Escalate Sanctions on Russia as Ukraine War Marks Four Years
I Gave Andrew a Nude Massage Inside Buckingham Palace
UK Economy Faces Acute Strain as Trump’s Global Tariff Reshapes Trade Landscape
UK Signals Retaliation Is Possible as New US Tariff Policy Threatens Trade Stability
British Police Arrest Former Ambassador Peter Mandelson in Epstein-Related Misconduct Probe
Australia Officially Supports Proposal to Remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Royal Succession
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan remains silent on ISIS brides' resettlement plans in Melbourne
Former UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson Arrested in Connection with Jeffrey Epstein
Jacob Rees Mogg afraid to talk about Peter Mandelson arrest on “suspicion of misconduct in a public office” (Pedophilia, corruption, etc.)
United Nations Calls for Global Action Against Disinformation and Hate Speech Online
Tucker Carlson warns of an inevitable clash in Western societies over mass migration
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Diverging Polls Show Mixed Signals on UK Economic Revival as Confidence Remains Fragile
Spotify Expands AI-Driven ‘Prompted Playlists’ Feature to the United Kingdom and Other Markets
Greens and Reform UK Surge in Manchester By-Election, Threatening Labour’s Historic Stronghold
UK Businesses Push for Closer European Trade Links Amid Renewed US Tariff Uncertainty
Deloitte Global Overhaul Sparks Leadership Contest in the United Kingdom
University of Kentucky and Microsoft to Showcase Campus-Wide AI Innovation
UK Food System Faces Acute Vulnerability to Shocks, Experts Warn
Reform UK’s Proposed ICE-Style Deportation Scheme Triggers Sharp Backlash
U.S. Global Tariff Push Leaves Britain, Australia and Others Facing Higher Costs and Trade Strain
UK Police Officers Guarded 2010 Epstein Dinner Attended by Prince Andrew, Reports Say
US Trade Representative Affirms Commitment to Existing Tariff Agreements with UK and Other Partners
Activists at the Louvre hung a framed Reuters photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest
The royal biographer said that he expected the police to 'look at the money trail' - including Sarah Ferguson borrowing money from Epstein
A Protestor screams in NYC: “Bill Gates is on the Epstein’s List…”
FBI and Secret Service Hold Press Conference After Shooting Incident at Mar-a-Lago
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Trial Over Social Media's Impact on Children's Mental Health
Maggie Oliver exposes Keir Starmer using letters to close child rapists investigations
Kouri Richie's wrote a children’s book to help her sons grieve the death of their father. Now she’ll stand trial for his murder
New York Braces for Major Snowstorm With Up to 18 Inches Forecast and Blizzard Warnings Issued
Mexican Military Kills CJNG Leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes as Violence Erupts Across Jalisco
Metropolitan Police Deploys Palantir-Powered AI to Flag Potential Officer Misconduct
UK Parliament Rebukes Police Over Ban on Israeli Football Fans
×