Zelenskyy urges Ukraine lawmakers to approve budget measures, prosecutor general’s dismissal

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KYIV, Ukraine (NPA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged parliament and the government to work together to close the country’s budget gap, strengthen state revenue collection and approve measures he said were necessary to fund Ukraine’s ongoing operations and defence.

The call followed a meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Ukraine, according to the president’s evening address on Monday.

He said parliamentarians and the government needed to coordinate their efforts to adopt a specific list of laws and government decisions aimed at addressing the budget deficit and ensuring continued payments.

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According to the Ukrainian president, the measures were not about political preferences but about securing the funds required for Ukraine to function and defend itself.

“I ask parliamentarians, already this week, to deliver this financial result for Ukraine through their votes,” he said.

He also called for closer scrutiny of the Tax Service and other government agencies to determine whether they were contributing fully to state revenue.

The president further called for stronger action against fraudulent call centres operating in Ukraine, saying draft legislation establishing strict criminal liability for such activities was also on the agenda.

President backs prosecutor general’s removal

The Ukrainian leader also urged members of the Verkhovna Rada to support the dismissal of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

He said he had submitted the motion for Kravchenko’s dismissal to parliament and called on lawmakers to support it.

Kravchenko resigned last week after an anti-corruption investigation reached his office. He has not been charged with a crime, while one of his subordinates has been accused of involvement in a fraud scheme linked to fraudulent call centres.

The dispute escalated on Monday after Kravchenko said he had signed a notice of suspicion against Semen Kryvonos, head of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), accusing him of forging official documents. NABU and other anti-corruption bodies disputed the allegations and described the development as an attack on their independence.

The president said the reasons for Kravchenko’s removal were already known and that he expected sufficient support in parliament.

Ukraine seeks stronger sanctions against Russia

On Russia, the Ukrainian president urged international partners not to ease sanctions against Moscow or Russian business figures.

He specifically mentioned Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, arguing that sanctions should remain in place until Russia faces meaningful consequences for the war.

He called for new and stronger measures targeting Russia’s financial resources and ballistic missile production.

He also said a sanctions bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham remained legislation rather than law and expressed hope that it would eventually be enacted.

Ukraine proposes reciprocal halt to infrastructure strikes

The president also said Ukraine had proposed that its international partners help secure an agreement with Russia to halt attacks on critical infrastructure.

According to him, food supplies, energy facilities, ports, logistics infrastructure and warehouses storing essential goods should be protected from attacks.

He said Ukraine would be prepared to reciprocate with a halt to its own strikes on Russian energy and other critical infrastructure if international partners could secure a credible and lasting Russian commitment to stop such attacks.

He stressed that any arrangement should be reliable and long-term and should have a tangible effect on civilians.

A de-escalation agreement covering critical infrastructure, he said, could serve as a first step towards broader peace, with Ukraine awaiting concrete proposals from its partners.

Ukrainian tank crews honoured

In another part of his address, the Ukrainian leader said he had presented awards to Ukrainian soldiers on Tank Troops Day.

He said the recipients included tank personnel who had fought during operations around Kyiv and Kharkiv, as well as in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and during the Kursk operation.

He thanked the soldiers for their service during the full-scale war and praised them as heroic and resilient defenders of Ukraine.