President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has removed Irina Venediktova from the post of Prosecutor General of the country. The corresponding decree was published on the website of the head of state.
So, Zelensky removed Venediktova in accordance with the law "On the legal regime of martial law." The duties of the Prosecutor General are assigned to her deputy Oleksiy Symonenko. Venediktova worked as Prosecutor General for a little over two years.
The Ukrainian president also removed Ivan Bakanov, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, from his post. In an evening address, Zelensky commented on Bakanov's dismissal:
“Today, 651 criminal proceedings have been registered on high treason and collaboration activities of employees of the prosecutor's office, pre-trial investigation bodies, and other law enforcement agencies. In 198 criminal proceedings, the relevant persons were informed of the suspicion.
In particular, more than 60 employees of the bodies and the SBU remained in the occupied territory and are working against our state. Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state and the connections recorded between the employees of the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and the special services of Russia ask very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelensky said.
On June 24, Politico, citing sources, reported that Zelensky was going to fire Bakanov due to a number of unsuccessful operations and losses in Kherson.
A high-ranking Ukrainian official told the publication that at the beginning of the Russian military invasion, SBU leaders in many regions behaved very strangely, running away, and one of them even set fire to the SBU building in Chernihiv, as there was no time to take out documents.