Zelenskyy dismisses prosecutor general and security chief in July 2022
A look back at the dismissals announced on 18 July 2022 and the Russian appointment in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast reported the same day.
What happened in Ukraine's security and law enforcement leadership in the days before 19 July 2022? As reported on 18 July 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and Ivan Bakanov, the top security official of the Security Service of Ukraine.
The dismissals came amid allegations that more than 60 officials from the two agencies were working with Russia. In addition, 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration were initiated against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials.
Occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia
On the same day, Russia announced that Anton Koltsov, a former Prime Minister of Vologda Oblast, would serve as Prime Minister in the Zaporizhzhia Military-Civilian Administration, set up in the part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast under Russian occupation. His appointment probably took place some days earlier.
Together, the two announcements showed the war being fought through institutions as well as on the battlefield: Kyiv was removing senior figures from its own security and prosecutorial bodies amid collaboration allegations, while Russia was installing its own official in an occupied region.
