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Volodymyr Zelensky has made a major overhaul of Ukraine’s security apparatus, appointing his top military intelligence chief to head the presidential office and naming a new defense minister.
The reshuffle of Ukraine’s president’s top team comes just weeks after a serious political crisis erupted over a corruption scandal that resulted in the dismissal of the previous head of his office.
Zelensky said Friday that he had initiated “substantial changes (and) internal changes to make Ukraine more resilient” as the country faces a critical moment in efforts to end the war with Russia.
Order published on Zelensky official website Confirmed the appointment of Kirill Budanov as Head of the Presidential Office – a post that gives him the role of Chief of Staff. Budanov was previously head of the military intelligence agency HUR.
Zelensky said he had offered the post of defense minister to longtime ally Mykhailo Fedorov, who has overseen the modernization of administrative services as minister of digital transformation.
The reshuffle comes as Ukrainian negotiators are seeking security guarantees from Western allies amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the war with Russia.
Budanov, who is among the few Ukrainian officials who kept an open line with Moscow during the war, including prisoner swaps, could be a valuable asset as peace talks continue.
Budanov said that “it was an honor and responsibility to focus on important issues of the strategic security of our state at this historic time for Ukraine”.
Fedorov, who has also previously served as Deputy Prime Minister, has played a central role in shaping Ukraine’s high-tech response to a full-scale Russian invasion, particularly its so-called “drone line” – a defensive line of drones aimed at inflicting maximum damage against Moscow’s attacking forces.
“Mykhailo is deeply involved in issues related to the ‘drone line’ and works very effectively on digitalizing public services and processes,” Zelensky said in his evening address on Friday.
“Together with all of our forces, military commands, national arms producers, and Ukraine’s partners, we must implement defense-sector changes that will help.”
Ukraine’s parliament must approve Zelensky’s nomination of Fedorov as defense minister.
The President appointed the head of the foreign intelligence service, Oleh Ivashchenko, as the new boss of HUR.
He also transferred the head of the State Border Guard Service, Serhiy Daineko, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Zelensky said that “in the near future” Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko “will propose candidates” to replace Daineko.
He said outgoing Defense Minister Dennis Schmehl would be reassigned to a different post.
People familiar with Budanov’s appointment said Zelensky had pressured him to accept the post over the past month and the intelligence chief was hesitant at first.
The 39-year-old’s profile has been boosted by good public relations on social media and HUR’s high-risk operations, which have given him cult-like popularity.
Polls have regularly named Budanov as one of Ukraine’s most popular political figures, leading to speculation that he could be one of Zelensky’s main opponents in future elections.
But the head of the presidential office – a key role in Ukraine’s opaque politics, despite technically being an administrative post – is traditionally a lightning rod for criticism.
Andriy Yermak, the previous holder of the chief of staff role, became Ukraine’s top negotiator as Trump sought to quickly end the war with Russia.
His removal following a corruption scandal in the energy sector led to the resignation of two ministers.
People familiar with the matter said that under Budanov, the HUR has transformed into a modern intelligence agency and also strengthened its ties with the CIA.
However, Budanov has at times come under scrutiny from Ukraine’s Western partners, who have warned him about particularly brazen plans because they fear they could escalate the war, these people said.
HUR has been involved in sabotage campaigns in Russia – including assassinations of high-profile military figures – as well as in Moscow-controlled Ukrainian areas.
Many of its units fight on the front lines, and were recently involved in a rare helicopter strike on the outskirts of Pokrovsk, a stronghold in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces have been trying to seize for several months.
