In Ukraine, 119 lawyers have been served with notices of suspicion of crimes over the past year and a half – Prosecutor General
Kyiv • UNN
Over the past year and a half, 119 lawyers have received notices of suspicion, and 79 cases are already in court. As the Prosecutor General noted, this is not a fight against the legal profession, but a cleansing of the profession from those who use it as a cover.
Over the last year and a half, 119 lawyers have been notified of suspicion, and indictments against 79 have already been sent to court. This was reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, who added that while he was speaking at the International Lawyers' Forum "Kharkiv Unbreakable 2026," a lawyer was detained in the Kharkiv region for "selling" influence over a judge, UNN reports.
Today I took part in the International Lawyers' Forum "Kharkiv Unbreakable 2026." I spoke frankly. Without diplomatic constructs. I deeply respect the legal profession. The right to defense is unconditional. Without a strong bar, there is no fair justice. Most lawyers perform their work professionally, honestly, and with dignity. They are the ones who build trust in the profession. But there are also those for whom the license has become a cover for corruption, fraud, and influence peddling. We systematically see disruptions of court proceedings, fictitious motions, manipulation of automated case distribution, and demonstrative disrespect for the court
The Prosecutor General emphasized: adversarial proceedings are the foundation of justice, not a way to technically bury a case and exhaust the system. Because behind every proceeding stand victims, their families, and the state, which during wartime cannot allow justice to be turned into a game without rules.
The Prosecutor's Office will respond to this harshly. Every fact of abuse of procedural rights is recorded. We are already appealing and will continue to appeal to the bodies of bar self-government. And this is already yielding concrete results. A vivid example is the case of the murder of a teenager at the Kyiv funicular station. A lawyer was held disciplinarily liable for obstructing the normal course of the process. The right to practice law has been suspended. Procedural behavior has limits
Also, according to the Prosecutor General, figures were discussed at the forum. Over the last year and a half, 119 lawyers have been notified of suspicion, and indictments against 79 have already been sent to court. These cases involve fraud, abuse of influence, participation in criminal organizations, facilitating evasion of mobilization, legalization of property, and falsification of evidence.
Symbolically, while Kravchenko's speech at the Forum was ongoing, a lawyer was detained in the Kharkiv region for "selling" influence over a judge. A man approached him with a civil case regarding determining the place of residence of his minor son. The lawyer assured him that he had influence over a judge of one of the district courts and could ensure the desired decision so that the boy would stay with his father. He quoted the price for resolving the issue at 5,500 US dollars. He was detained while receiving the funds.
And in Ivano-Frankivsk, a lawyer was exposed who decided to profit from clients. He was approached by two suspects in a case involving the illegal smuggling of persons across the border. The lawyer knew that the prosecutor had made a lawful decision regarding one of them on the possibility of concluding a plea agreement with a sentence not involving imprisonment. However, he presented the situation differently to the clients—convincing them that the agreement was only possible after handing over 18,000 euros to the prosecutor, which is equivalent to over 900,000 UAH. The lawyer was detained while the funds were being handed over to him. He has been notified of suspicion, the Prosecutor General added.
According to him, there are many such cases. And this is not a fight against the legal profession. This is a cleansing of the profession from those who use it as a cover. Because respect for the bar begins not with the inviolability of status, but with responsibility to the client, to society, and to the law. And the law is the same for everyone—for the prosecutor, the judge, and the lawyer.
I am convinced that the results of the Forum will be a step toward returning the status of elite to the legal profession. We continue to work