Major personnel changes are being prepared in the prosecutor’s offices in the regions of Ukraine: new heads of the relevant regions are being appointed
After Ruslan Kravchenko was appointed to the position of Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the processes of reforming regional prosecutor's offices have intensified in law enforcement agencies. According to sources close to law enforcement agencies, it is planned to change the leadership of prosecutor's offices in several key regions in the near future: Vinnytsia, Odessa, Kharkiv, Zakarpattia, Cherkasy and Kyiv. These personnel changes are part of the new administration's strategic course to combat corruption and abuses, as well as transparent and effective justice in the regions. According to internal sources of "Ukrainska Pravda", several candidates are being considered for the positions of heads of regional prosecutor's offices, each of whom has experience in the prosecutor's office system and the potential for reform. In particular, we are talking about the following candidates: Oleg Tkalenko - currently the deputy prosecutor of the Kyiv region and a former employee of the prosecutor's offices of Sumy and Kyiv. His candidacy is being considered for the position of head of the Vinnytsia region prosecutor's office. Tkalenko is also known for his involvement in publications related to the alleged undeclaration of expensive automotive equipment belonging to the family, but his professional experience in the prosecutor's office makes him a serious contender. Kostyantyn Merimerin and Andriy Svatok are two more names on the list of possible heads of the Odessa region prosecutor's office. Merimerin has experience in leading the Vinnytsia region prosecutor's offices in 2019 and previously worked in the Odessa region prosecutor's office. He currently works in the Prosecutor General's Office. As for Svatok, he holds the position of deputy prosecutor of the Kyiv region and, according to plans, may become the chief prosecutor of the region, and Merimerin - his first deputy. Oleksiy Khimchenko is a candidate for the position of head of the prosecutor's office in the Kharkiv region, currently holds the position of prosecutor of the Vinnytsia region. Prior to that, he worked as the first deputy prosecutor of the Odessa region, with over 16 years of experience in the prosecutor's office and a graduate of the Odessa Law Academy. Myroslav Patskan is a potential head of the Transcarpathian prosecutor's office. He is currently the first deputy head of the Boryspil district prosecutor's office of the Kyiv region, which controls Irpin. His candidacy for this position is considered one of the most promising. At the same time, Volodymyr Ponomarenko, who was previously a judge and was convicted in 2021 of abuse of influence in the VAKS case, is considered a possible candidate for the position of head of the Cherkasy region prosecutor's office. His candidacy is causing some opposition due to his legal background. Another contender is Andriy Turbar, the current head of the Buchanan district prosecutor's office. He is called a likely candidate for the position of head of the Kyiv region prosecutor's office. Turbar is known as the initiator of the "Community Prosecutor" project, which provides for an open dialogue between the prosecutor and residents of territorial communities, which corresponds to the aspirations of the new government for transparency and accountability. Against the background of planned personnel changes in the regions, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, stability is currently maintained - the current head of the prosecutor's office is leaving his position unchanged. It is also significant that before the appointment of Ruslan Kravchenko as Prosecutor General in June 2023, three of his candidates for the positions of deputies had already been approved by the Prosecutors' Council. These are Maksym Krym, Andriy Leshchenko and Maria Vdovichenko - highly professional specialists with proven experience in the prosecutorial system. After the appointment of Ruslan Kravchenko as Prosecutor General, Ukrainian law enforcement structural units began a large-scale rethinking of personnel policy and reform of the prosecutor's office system. It is expected that the new heads of regional prosecutors' offices will not only confirm their qualifications, but also contribute to reducing the level of corruption, increasing trust in law enforcement agencies, and ensuring more transparent justice in the country. Prime ministers and heads of the law enforcement system assure that future personnel decisions are part of the strategy of reforms and restoring citizens' trust in the prosecutor's office, and the new composition of the regional leadership should become the driver of changes in the system, making it more open and effective for every Ukrainian.