Zelensky sacks Ukrainian prosecutor leading war crimes probes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired the country’s top prosecutor, Iryna Venediktova, who was leading investigations into Russian war crimes.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Venediktova was removed from her position along with the Ukraine’s security service chief, Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelensky’s.
Zelensky’s office didn’t give reasons for the dismissals, but the decree ousting Bakanov cited an article that pertains to “failure to perform service duties, which led to human casualties or other grave consequences,” per Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
Venediktova, who has served as prosecutor general since 2020, recently said that her office is investigating more than 23,000 war crimes cases.
She has also been a leading voice for holding Russia accountable on the international stage, as Ukraine and its allies are in the early stages of working out where and how to prosecute those responsible for Russian war crimes.
The International Criminal Court launched an inquiry into war crimes in Ukraine soon after Russia’s invasion in late February, while the U.S. and 14 European Union (EU) member countries have also launched inquiries into the war.
Zelensky called on the ICC last week to launch a “special tribunal” to punish Russia.
The news of Venediktova’s firing comes about two years after her predecessor, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, was removed.
In an interview last year, Ryaboshapka claimed his dismissal as prosecutor general was due to his refusal to investigate Hunter Biden at the request of former President Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani
Top Kremlin official Dmitry Medvedev vowed earlier this month that the U.S. will face the “wrath of God” if it aids efforts to launch a tribunal to prosecute Russian forces.
Source: TEST FEED1
