Just hours after his arrest amid a bribery investigation (see 11.25 post), the head of Ukraine's Supreme Court has been dismissed from his post in a case described by anti-corruption authorities as their biggest-ever.

Kyiv has increased its efforts to clamp down on corruption despite Russia's invasion, and doing so is vital to meet the conditions for joining the European Union.

Oleksandr Omelchenko, a prosecutor at the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), said the Supreme Court's top judge had been detained as part of a suspected bribery scheme and was awaiting a formal "notice of suspicion".

Mr Omelchenko did not identify the judge by name but the court had been led until now by Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniaziev, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

"At this time, the head of the Supreme Court has been detained and measures are being taken to check other individuals for involvement in criminal activity," Mr Omelchenko told a joint briefing with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

An emergency Supreme Court plenary meeting hours later voted no-confidence in Kniaziev and then voted for his dismissal as head of the court. Another judicial body would be responsible for stripping him of his status as a judge.

(Source: Sky News)