Andriy Kostin steps down after corruption scheme involving false incapacity diagnoses for draft exemptions is uncovered.
Ukrainian Prosecutor Normal Andriy Kostin has introduced his resignation amid a scandal involving dozens of officers alleged to have abused their place to obtain incapacity standing and keep away from army service.
In early October, it emerged that dozens of public prosecutors within the western area of Khmelnytskyi had falsely been awarded incapacity permits and have been receiving particular pensions.
Kostin mentioned on Tuesday he was taking accountability for the scandal and introduced his resignation. He referred to as the scenario across the false incapacity diagnoses “clearly amoral”.
“On this scenario, I consider it’s proper to announce my resignation from the place of prosecutor normal,” Kostin mentioned.
The announcement adopted a gathering of the Nationwide Safety and Defence Council.
After the assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree to dismantle the present system of medical and social commissions chargeable for registering people as disabled by the top of the yr, eliminating a loophole that allowed draft evasion by means of bribery.
‘Tons of’ of circumstances
After the scandal erupted earlier this month, Kostin ordered an investigation, which he mentioned had found the variety of prosecutors within the Khmelnytskyi area with disabilities was 61, and that fifty of them had been registered disabled earlier than the conflict.
“It is extremely necessary to determine why they have been granted incapacity standing, as a result of the share of such workers in Khmelnytskyi area could be very excessive,” he mentioned.
The chief prosecutor’s resignation nonetheless must be authorised by parliament, the place Zelenskyy’s celebration holds a majority. Following the president’s public name for accountability, it’s extensively anticipated that parliament will endorse it.
In his night handle, Zelenskyy informed the nation that such corruption prolonged a lot wider than simply to prosecutors.
“There are a whole bunch of such circumstances of clearly unjustified disabilities amongst customs, tax, pension fund and native administration officers,” he mentioned.
“All of this must be handled completely and promptly,” he mentioned. The entire course of should be digitalised, he added, saying that at the moment “individuals who have acquired an actual incapacity, notably in fight, typically can’t get the suitable standing and honest funds”.
The Safety Companies of Ukraine (SBU) had earlier issued an announcement saying 64 officers throughout the Medical and Social Professional Commissions had been notified they have been being investigated for illegally issuing incapacity certificates.
“One other 9 individuals have already been convicted,” the SBU mentioned of their assertion, including that 4,106 incapacity certificates “have been cancelled”.
Mobilisation in Ukraine is a hotly contested and controversial situation that has polarised society after a large-scale army recruitment drive earlier this yr to bolster Ukraine’s struggling forces as they struggle in opposition to Russia’s invasion. Because the president signed a renewed mobilisation regulation in April 2024, males between the ages of 25 and 60 at the moment are eligible. Beforehand, the vary was 27 to 60.
Troopers have reported tough situations together with relentless days of heavy hearth with out reduction as a result of an absence of reinforcements. Entrance-line troops have shared with the media that they’ve been transferring from one battle to the subsequent with minimal relaxation.
Prosecutions for desertion from Ukraine’s military are thought to have hit no less than 30,000 already this yr. That is a number of occasions the quantity in 2022, the yr the conflict started when residents and foreigners voluntarily poured into the army.