This week, Ukraine dismissed Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the US signed a bill imposing new large-scale sanctions against Russia, the Defense Forces reported the start of an offensive operation in the east, and also carried out the most massive attack on Moscow and the Moscow region.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
The Prosecutor General declared suspicion against the head of NABU, and then he was fired
The week began with Ruslan Kravchenko announcing on September 14 that he had signed a complaint against the NABU head Semen Kryvonos. Kravchenko accused him of forging paternity documents and of involvement in a scheme to sell land at an undervalue.
Suspicion was also declared against a person close to the head of SAPO Oleksandr Klymenko for influencing judges of HACC, bribery, and facilitating mobilization evasion.
However, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office officially stated that the information about Kryvonosʼ suspicions was not true. At the press conference, Klymenko and Kryvonos also said that they had not received any official suspicions.
After that, the president removed Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General. And Kravchenko himself went abroad — according to him, on a business trip.
All this happened shortly after NABU and SAPO reported the special operation "Carthage" to "cover up" a network of fraudulent call centers, which, according to the investigation, was organized by an official of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office Serhiy Kropyva — he has already been sent to custody.
The investigatorsʼ records also include "The Boss", the former head of the State Tax Service. From December 2024 to June 2025, Ruslan Kravchenko was the head of the State Tax Service. After the investigation, Kravchenko resigned.
On September 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Ruslan Kravchenko from the position of Prosecutor General. Anton Kovalsky — the former head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutorʼs Office — became acting prosecutor.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine launch offensive operation in the east
On September 15, the Third Army Corps reported that it had launched the offensive Operation “Vivaldi" in the northern Donetsk region. The operation has four stages in total, and was initially not public.
On September 20, it became known that within the framework of the operation, the Defense Forces had already returned 125 km² of the Donetsk region to Ukrainian control, of which 50 km² had been deoccupied. The total losses of the Russian Federation in the two stages were over 3 000 military personnel.
The US President signs bill on "hellish sanctions" against Russia
On September 17, the US House of Representatives supported a bill on new sanctions against Russia, and two days later, President Donald Trump signed it into law.
The document proposes 100 percent tariffs on the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas and countries that help Moscow circumvent sanctions, including China, India and Turkey. It also proposes toughening sanctions against the Russian military and foreign suppliers.
This bill was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Ukraineʼs most consistent supporters. He died suddenly on July 11 after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones and missiles massively attacked Moscow
On the night of September 20, Ukraine attacked Moscow and the region — just as the Russian Federation was holding elections to the State Duma. Ukrainian drones and missiles FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, "Palyanytsia", Vendetta, "Fluty", "Bars", "Flamingo", "January" and Pelican were used on the targets.
In Moscow, the Kapotny refinery, one of the largest and most important enterprises in Russiaʼs oil refining industry, was under attack. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called this attack the most massive yet — air defenses allegedly shot down over 1 600 UAVs.
Zelensky signed a law on combating fraudulent call centers
The document, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 17, proposes to supplement the Criminal Code with a new article — "Electronic communications fraud". Such activity during martial law is punishable by imprisonment from 7 to 12 years.
Separately, they propose punishments for creating and leading fraudulent organizations — 7-12 years in prison with confiscation of property. For participating in them — 5-10 years.
At the same time, a member of a fraudulent organization may be exempted from liability if he or she reports it and helps expose it before suspicion is raised. This will not apply to organizers and managers.
The government approved the draft state budget for 2027
On September 15, the government approved and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada the draft state budget for 2027. It allocated UAH 4 trillion 885 billion for defense — almost 44% of Ukraineʼs GDP.
According to the project, revenues next year are expected to be 5.65 trillion hryvnias (8.7% more than in the plan for 2026), and expenditures are 7.27 trillion (13.5% more than in 2026). The need for international support in 2027 will amount to $52.6 billion. For which areas funds have been allocated — read more in the news.
MPs and specialized committees can still make changes to the draft. The document must be considered in the first reading in the Rada no later than October 20.
The Verkhovna Rada supported the project on taxes on parcels up to €150 for the third time
On September 16, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading project No. 16051-1 on taxes on parcels up to €150 from foreign marketplaces. This is one of four tax bills that the IMF requires to be passed in order to extend the credit program for Ukraine.
The document amends the Tax Code of Ukraine and proposes to introduce VAT on goods purchased through foreign marketplaces, regardless of their value (currently, parcels up to €150 are not taxed).
For online purchases worth up to €150, VAT will be charged and paid by the electronic platform. Non-commercial parcels worth up to €45 are proposed to be exempt from VAT. If the law is finally adopted, the new rules should come into effect no earlier than January 1, 2027.
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