Ukrainian prosecutor general resigns amid scandal over draft exemptions

Andriy Kostin steps down aft corruption strategy involving mendacious disablement diagnoses for draught exemptions is uncovered.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has announced his resignation amid a ungraded involving dozens of officials alleged to person abused their presumption to person disablement presumption and debar subject service.

In aboriginal October, it emerged that dozens of nationalist prosecutors successful the occidental portion of Khmelnytskyi had falsely been awarded disablement permits and were receiving peculiar pensions.

Kostin said connected Tuesday helium was taking work for the ungraded and announced his resignation. He called the concern astir the mendacious disablement diagnoses “clearly amoral”.

“In this situation, I judge it is close to denote my resignation from the presumption of authoritative general,” Kostin said.

The announcement followed a gathering of the National Security and Defence Council.

After the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree to dismantle the existent strategy of aesculapian and societal commissions liable for registering individuals arsenic disabled by the extremity of the year, eliminating a loophole that allowed draught evasion done bribery.

‘Hundreds’ of cases

After the ungraded erupted earlier this month, Kostin ordered an investigation, which helium said had discovered the fig of prosecutors successful the Khmelnytskyi portion with disabilities was 61, and that 50 of them had been registered disabled earlier the war.

“It is precise important to found wherefore they were granted disablement status, due to the fact that the stock of specified employees successful Khmelnytskyi portion is precise high,” helium said.

The main prosecutor’s resignation inactive needs to beryllium approved by parliament, wherever Zelenskyy’s enactment holds a majority. Following the president’s nationalist telephone for accountability, it is wide expected that parliament volition endorse it.

In his evening address, Zelenskyy told the federation that specified corruption extended overmuch wider than conscionable to prosecutors.

“There are hundreds of specified cases of evidently unjustified disabilities among customs, tax, pension money and section medication officials,” helium said.

“All of this needs to beryllium dealt with thoroughly and promptly,” helium said. The full process indispensable beryllium digitalised, helium added, saying that presently “people who person received a existent disability, peculiarly successful combat, often cannot get the due presumption and just payments”.

The Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) had earlier issued a connection saying 64 officials wrong the Medical and Social Expert Commissions had been notified they were being investigated for illegally issuing disablement certificates.

“Another 9 radical person already been convicted,” the SBU said successful their statement, adding that 4,106 disablement certificates “were cancelled”.

Mobilisation successful Ukraine is simply a hotly contested and arguable contented that has polarised nine aft a large-scale subject recruitment thrust earlier this twelvemonth to bolster Ukraine’s struggling forces arsenic they fight against Russia’s invasion. Since the president signed a renewed mobilisation instrumentality successful April 2024, men betwixt the ages of 25 and 60 are present eligible. Previously, the scope was 27 to 60.

Soldiers person reported hard conditions including relentless days of dense occurrence without alleviation owed to a deficiency of reinforcements. Front-line troops person shared with the media that they person been moving from 1 conflict to the adjacent with minimal rest.

Prosecutions for desertion from Ukraine’s army are thought to person deed astatine slightest 30,000 already this year. This is respective times the fig successful 2022, the twelvemonth the warfare began erstwhile citizens and foreigners voluntarily poured into the military.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies