Zelensky dismisses Ukraine's prosecutor general and spy chief over leadership concerns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
(Image credit: Alexey Furman/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday he has dismissed Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and Security Service head Ivan Bakanov, due to concerns over their leadership and the number of officials in their departments suspected of treason.

Zelensky said as of Sunday, 651 criminal proceedings have been "registered regarding treason and collaboration activities of employees of prosecutor's offices, pretrial investigation bodies, and other law enforcement agencies," and more than 60 employees of the prosecutor's office and Security Service remain in "the occupied territory and are working against our state."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.