Zelensky appoints Ruslan Kravchenko as Kyiv Oblast governor

Ruslan Kravchenko has been appointed as governor of Kyiv Oblast, the President's Office reported on April 10.

Kravchenko is currently the chief prosecutor of Kyiv Oblast's Bucha District. He was a candidate in the contest for a new National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) chief but the selection commission concluded that he did not meet ethics and integrity standards.

Following this decision, Kravechenko claimed "bias" in a March 2 interview and demanded that the commission provide a justification.

He also explained to the commission that the $53,000 in cash declared on his 2021 financial statement was due to him and his wife saving money from good salaries since 2015. Furthermore, he said that he had received a $20,000 severance payment received after serving in the military for over a decade.

The Anti-Corruption Action Center reported on Feb. 17 that Kravchenko received housing from the state in December 2018 only to privatize and sell it in 2019.

Kravchenko replaces former Kyiv Oblast governor Oleksiy Kuleba, who was removed from the position on Jan. 24 during a government reshuffle and subsequently appointed as a deputy head of the President's Office.