Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Lutsenko announces resignation

On Tuesday, November 6, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuri Lutsenko will write a statement of resignation in response to the corresponding appeals of public activists.

"I have done my work and I will do it. Everything that I promised to Kateryna Handziuk in the hospital has been done and will be done. However, I cannot tolerate when the law enforcement system is being destroyed groundlessly, even for the solved crimes. As the head of the law enforcement system, I will file a statement [of resignation] today, and you will decide whether MP Mustafa Nayyem will be in charge of investigating and identifying the perpetrators from the TV screens or whether the law enforcement agencies, who bear criminal responsibility, will do this," Lutsenko said at the Parliament of Ukraine, reporting on the findings of the investigation into the murder of activist Kateryna Handziuk, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the Prosecutor General, Ukraine is in a "perverted informational atmosphere: not Putin is blamed for the war, but Poroshenko and the authorities, because some people strive for power."

"Today, not those, who killed Handziuk and were detained by the National Police, are accused, but those, who, according to an investigator, do not point to the right person who ordered Handziuk’s murder for seizing power," Lutsenko said.

He called such statements "a struggle for power."

"Therefore, to dispel doubts and show that nobody is clinging to power, today I will submit a statement of resignation to the President of Ukraine, and you in the Parliament have to consider this issue," the Prosecutor General added. He called on Ukrainian lawmakers to consider his statement of resignation this week.

Well-known activist, volunteer, member of the Kherson City Council, Kateryna Handziuk, who had sulfuric acid thrown in her face last summer, died at hospital on November 4. According to preliminary reports, the reason was a blood clot. The woman was 33 years old.

President Petro Poroshenko called on law enforcement agencies to do everything necessary to bring the killers of the activist to justice.

The attack on Handziuk occurred on July 31. Unidentified individuals poured her with sulfuric acid. She suffered chemical burns and partially lost sight. Handziuk underwent over ten operations. She has been in Kyiv's burn center since August 1.

Five people are suspected of an assassination attempt on Handziuk. All of them were detained.

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