Zelensky appoints Ukraine’s head of military intelligence to be his new chief of staff

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that Kyrylo Budanov would be the new head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, following the resignation of the office’s previous head Andriy Yermak in November.

“At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Defence and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations, and the Office of the President will primarily serve the fulfilment of these tasks of our state,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding that Budanov had “specialised experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results”.  

A Ukrainian military officer who has been head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (GUR) since August 2020, Budanov is a graduate of the Odesa Military Academy who has served in Ukraine’s special forces as well as in combat operations against Russia since 2014. 

Though Budanov had been widely tipped by analysts to succeed Yermak as the president’s chief of staff, which is effectively the second most powerful political position in Ukraine, there is no word yet on who will replace him as the head of Ukrainian military intelligence. 

The previous head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, resigned in late November when investigators searched his home and office as part of a probe into a wide-ranging kick-back scheme allegedly being run within the country’s main energy provider Ukrenergo.