Ukraine's parliament votes to remove security chief and prosecutor general

[July 19, 2022]  KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament dismissed the domestic security chief and prosecutor general on Tuesday, two days after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suspended them for failing to root out Russian spies.

Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Ivan Bakanov attends a news briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine May 11, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Ivan Bakanov was fired from his position at the helm of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) by a comfortable majority, several lawmakers said on the Telegram messaging app.

The head of Zelenskiy's political faction said Iryna Venediktova had also been voted out as prosecutor general.

In a statement published on Telegram minutes before his dismissal was confirmed, Bakanov said "miscalculations" had been made during his tenure, but that he was proud of his record.

(Reporting by Max Hunder, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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