Former prosecutor general reportedly appointed Ukraine's ambassador to Netherlands

Former Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has been appointed as Ukraine's ambassador to the Netherlands, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on his Telegram on Dec. 13.

Several Ukrainian media outlets, including Suspilne, also reported that Kostin had been appointed as ambassador to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, it is still unknown who will replace Kostin as prosecutor general.

"As for the post of prosecutor general, the decision on Kostin's successor has not yet been made, but is being prepared," a source in the president's team told Suspilne.

Kostin submitted his resignation on Oct. 22 following a National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) meeting headed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The session addressed the "immoral situation" surrounding the fake disabilities of prosecutors, and "many shameful facts of abuse" were revealed, according to Kostin.

Following the meeting, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) head Vasyl Maliuk said that his agency had exposed corruption schemes at medical examination commissions, resulting in the cancellation of 4,106 fake disability status certificates.

Maliuk added that 64 officials at medical examination commissions had been charged with crimes, while another nine suspects had been convicted.

Medical examination commissions (MSEK) are bodies tasked with determining the severity of a disability. Corruption schemes at medical examination commissions linked to draft evasion have been reported in Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Kharkiv oblasts.

Kostin had served as prosecutor general since July 28, 2022, replacing Iryna Venediktova.

Prior to that, he was a member of parliament from 2019 to 2022 and headed the legal policy committee.

From 2012 to 2019, Kostin was a deputy chairman of the Odesa Oblast Bar Association. He has been a member of the International Bar Association since 2000.

Why did Ukraine’s prosecutor general resign, and who will replace him?

The formal reason for Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin’s resignation on Oct. 22 was the ongoing major corruption scandal involving hundreds of prosecutors who obtained disability benefits, including financial support, the ability to evade the military draft and leave the country at will. A crucial…

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

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