Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Vasyl Malyuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, 5 January 2026. Photo: Zelensky / Telegram
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s main domestic security agency, is to leave his post, BBC News Russian reported on Monday.
Zelensky said that he had met with Malyuk and asked him to focus on combat activity in another role within the SBU and make Ukraine’s asymmetric operations “the best in the world”, the BBC continued.
Earlier on Monday, independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that Malyuk had agreed to resign as head of the SBU. This followed reports that Zelensky intended to dismiss Malyuk as part of a larger reshuffle which included the appointment of Kyrylo Budanov, formerly the head of military intelligence, as his chief of staff.
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, must now rubber-stamp Malyuk’s departure. Writing on Telegram earlier in the day, Malyuk said “I am leaving my post as head of the Security Service. I will remain within the SBU system to implement global level asymmetric special operations, which will continue to cause maximum damage to the enemy”.
During their meeting, Malyuk and Zelensky discussed potential new candidates for the role, according to the BBC. Zelensky has since appointed Major General Yevhen Khmara as acting head of the SBU, according to independent news outlet RusNews. Khmara previously headed the Alpha special forces unit, which has been responsible for massive drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and major military installations.
