Zelensky bans government employees from leaving the country for ‘non-governmental purposes’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed an executive order prohibiting state employees from leaving the country for “non-governmental purposes” while mobilization and martial law are in effect.

The ban comes just days after news broke that Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko had used a car owned by Kyiv businessman Grigory Kozlovsky to take a Spain vacation in December and January. Symonenko reportedly submitted his resignation on Monday.

The new rule applies to Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, leaders of the Office of the President, Verkhovna Rada deputies, judges, prosecutors, and heads of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Central Election Commission, the National Security and Defense Council, the National Bank and city administrations.