Manipulation and attempts to pressure the Prosecutor General: the Council of Prosecutors commented on the scandal with Shevchuk
Kyiv • UNN
Ruslan Romanov, Head of the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine, explained the procedure for forming the Competition Commission for the selection of SAP leadership, emphasizing the legality of the Prosecutor General's actions and the transparency of the procedure. He clarified on what grounds the appointments of commission members can be canceled.
Manipulations continue around the formation of the Competition Commission for holding a competition for vacant administrative positions in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) by certain media resources that ignore the requirements of current legislation and, in fact, exert pressure on Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. This was stated by the head of the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine, Ruslan Romanov, UNN writes.
"First of all, it is concerning that certain media resources are manipulating the situation around the formation of the Competition Commission for organizing and holding a competition for vacant administrative positions in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, imposing their subjective vision on society. At the same time, they completely ignore the requirements of current legislation. In addition, I believe that this is, to some extent, pressure on the Prosecutor General, who, in a timely manner, in the manner prescribed by law, observing the procedure provided for by the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office," appointed three members of the Competition Commission," Romanov noted in an interview with the "Sudovo-yurydychna gazeta" publication.
He emphasized that Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko acted exclusively within the limits and in the manner defined by law and timely appointed the members of the Competition Commission.
According to the head of the Council of Prosecutors, the selection procedure for the Competition Commission was transparent and public. Thus, on November 27, 2025, the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine approved recommendations for the submission of documents by candidates, which were published on the official website. On November 28, the start of the selection was announced.
Romanov noted that four candidates submitted documents for participation in the selection: three representatives of prosecutor's offices and one lawyer. Other lawyers or representatives of public organizations did not participate in the selection.
"Other persons, neither lawyers nor representatives of public associations, for some reason did not express a desire to participate in the selection and did not submit documents. In this regard, the question arises whether they are not afraid to take responsibility and at the same time declare their property status, as provided," Romanov noted.
At the same time, according to him, there were no circumstances that would make it impossible for these candidates to participate in the selection.
"Based on the results of processing the submitted documents, no circumstances that, in accordance with the law, would make it impossible for persons to participate in the selection were established. All four candidates were admitted to participate in the selection and passed the relevant interviews," Romanov added.
On December 9, 2025, the Council of Prosecutors decided to propose to the Prosecutor General to appoint three prosecutor's office employees to the Competition Commission. However, subsequently, one of the candidates submitted a self-recusal statement, which the Council of Prosecutors granted on December 18, after which two candidates were proposed to the Prosecutor General.
"Due to the insufficient number of candidates proposed by the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine and in order to ensure the timely fulfillment of the requirements of paragraph 4 of part 3 of Article 29-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office," the Prosecutor General appointed lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk as a member of the Competition Commission, as he remained the only candidate who submitted his documents within the specified period," Romanov explained.
The head of the Council of Prosecutors separately emphasized that the law does not provide for the possibility of revoking an order on the appointment of a member of the Competition Commission without clearly defined grounds. This refers to submitting a personal statement on the termination of the powers of a member of the Competition Commission; inability to attend meetings due to health reasons for more than one month; the Competition Commission's proposal to prematurely terminate the powers of its member in cases provided for by the Competition Commission's regulations; the entry into force of a guilty verdict of the court against him; his recognition as incapacitated or missing; or in the event of death.
"Only in the presence of one of the listed grounds for early termination of the powers of a member of the Competition Commission does the Prosecutor General decide on the early termination of his powers and appoint another member of the Competition Commission in the manner established by the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office." There is no other legal way to prematurely terminate the powers of a designated member of the Competition Commission," Romanov emphasized.
However, according to him, some media are trying to pressure the Prosecutor General and persuade him to make decisions that are convenient for them, but illegal.
"The consequences of such actions may be the challenging of such decisions of the Prosecutor General in court, which will lead to a delay in the formation of the Competition Commission. I will say this, it is easy to criticize from the outside without delving into the requirements of the legislation and without understanding the entire essence of the selection procedure for the Competition Commission," the head of the Council of Prosecutors warned.
In addition, Romanov drew attention to the fact that the Competition Commission cannot start its work yet, as its full composition has not yet been formed, because proposals for candidates from international and foreign organizations have not yet been received from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.