(Kyiv) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday evening the dismissal of the country’s chief prosecutor and security services chief because of multiple suspicions of treason by some of their subordinates for the benefit of the Russians.
Posted at 5:50 p.m.
“Today I have taken the decision to relieve the General Prosecutor” Iryna Venediktova, “and the head of the security services” (SBU) Ivan Bakanov from their duties, the Ukrainian President said in his evening address.
Ukrainian authorities are investigating more than 650 cases of suspected treason by local officials, including 60 in areas occupied by Russian and pro-Russian forces, he added.
“Such a large number of crimes against the foundations of national security and the links established between Ukrainian law enforcement officials and Russian special services raise very serious questions for the leaders concerned,” Zelensky said. .
“Each of these questions will be answered,” he continued.
Mme Venediktova notably led the investigation into the alleged atrocities committed at the start of the invasion by Russian forces in the town of Boutcha, a suburb north-west of Kyiv, which in the eyes of the West has become a symbol of “war crimes Russians in Ukraine.