Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin has resigned amid investigations that found dozens of government officials had dodged military service by claiming disability benefits.
Mobilization is a very sensitive issue in Ukraine, whose troop numbers have been depleted after more than 2 1/2 years of fighting Russia's invasion.
Kostin announced his resignation on October 22 on Telegram after a meeting of Ukraine's National Security Council attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Kostin "should take political responsibility" for corruption and n loopholes being used to get draft deferrals.
"The problem is not just that officials use their connections to get disabled status. It is also the fact that people who are really disabled, especially in combat, often do not get the appropriate status and fair payment," Zelenskiy said.
Earlier this month, investigators found that a number of public prosecutors in the western Khmelnytskiy region had falsely obtained disability permits and were receiving special benefits. Investigations into the issue are ongoing in other parts of Ukraine.
Kostin's resignation still needs parliamentary approval, but that is expected to move through the legislature with little resistance, as Zelenskiy's party holds a majority of the seats.
"I consider the position of President Zelenskiy to be absolutely correct.... I [also] think it is correct to announce my resignation as prosecutor-general," Kostin said on Telegram.
Soon after Kostin's resignation, Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal announced the dismissal of several other senior officials, the management of the central commission overseeing fitness for service, and officials in the Health Ministry who coordinate the activities of local commissions.
In a sign of the precarious situation Ukraine faces as it tries to hold off Russia's massive troop advantage, military recruiters in recent weeks have shown up at conspicuous events like concerts and weddings looking for men who had not registered for service under a long-debated and highly controversial military mobilization law that was adopted last spring.
Zelenskiy has acknowledged several times the "very, very difficult” situation the military is facing, while he also tries to keep the country unified during the war, which has had drastically differing impacts on various population groups, with its burden falling most heavily on Ukrainians from the south and east of the country.
Highlighting the growing unrest over the issue of mobilization, protesters in August tried to force their way into a military recruitment center in Ukraine to demand the release of four young men who they claimed were illegally detained amid the country's increased mobilization efforts.
Days earlier, Zelenskiy endorsed bills extending martial law and a general military mobilization for 90 days, the 11th time he had done so since the war broke out.
