KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (Jan 5) ousted the nation’s safety service chief within the newest change to Kyiv’s prime intelligence positions, nearly 4 years into the Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy and Vasyl Maliuk, a preferred army chief who gained reward for overseeing bold operations in opposition to Russian forces, stated that Maliuk was stepping down as head of the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Zelenskyy stated on social media he had met Maliuk and thanked him for his service, posting a photograph of the 2 males shaking fingers.
Maliuk stated he was “stepping down” however would stay “throughout the SBU system to hold out world-class uneven particular operations that may proceed to inflict most harm on the enemy.”
Amid studies Maliuk was on the point of being eliminated, a number of prime army figures had rallied behind him with statements of assist over the weekend.
Ukraine’s SBU has claimed quite a few daring assaults on Russia since Moscow invaded in 2022.
They embrace the 2024 killing in Moscow of a head of the Russian military’s chemical weapons division and repeated assaults on the Crimean Bridge.
In June 2025, the SBU carried out probably the most bold assaults by both facet in your entire battle – dubbed Operation Spiderweb – when drones smuggled into Russia launched simultaneous assaults on Russian nuclear-capable bombers and airfields deep behind the entrance line.
The shake-up comes weeks after a corruption scandal pressured Zelensky’s as soon as most essential ally, Andriy Yermak, to resign because the president’s chief of workers.
Final week, Zelenskyy named the favored Ukrainian army intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to move his presidential workplace and stated he supposed to exchange the defence minister.
Zelenskyy on Monday issued a decree appointing Yevgeny Khmara, who headed an SBU division, as briefly accountable for the safety service amid a seek for a everlasting alternative.
