Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has announced his resignation after a probe by the country’s security services uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme that apparently provided military draft exemptions for government officials.
Mobilization in Ukraine is a hotly contested and controversial issue that has polarized society after a large-scale military recruitment drive earlier this year to bolster Ukraine’s struggling forces as they fight off Russia’s invasion.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“Many shameful facts of abuse have been established within the system of prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” Kostin said in a statement on social media.
“I believe it is right to announce my resignation from the post of Prosecutor General,” he added.
His announcement came shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had held a meeting with senior Ukrainian officials about the widespread abuse of the issuing of disability certificates to officials “in various state bodies,” that would allow them to avoid military service.
In a statement following the meeting, Zelensky said Kostin should take “political responsibility” for the situation within his agency.
The Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) had earlier issued a statement saying 64 officials within the Medical and Social Expert Commissions had been notified they were being investigated for illegally issuing disability certificates.
“Another nine people have already been convicted,” the SBU said in their statement, adding that 4,106 disability certificates “were canceled.”
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
