Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is replacing his disgraced chief of staff with his nation’s spy chief.
Kyrylo Budanov, the 39-year-old head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, accepted his new role on Friday as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations, and the Office of the President will primarily serve the fulfillment of these tasks of our state,” Zelensky said in an announcement of Budnaov’s selection on Friday.
He added, “Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results.”
Budanov has led Ukrainian military intelligence since 2020 and is considered a leading figure in the future of the country’s politics.
Zelensky adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters that procedures are underway to install Budanov as the president’s chief of staff.
“For me, it is an honor and a responsibility to focus on critically important issues of the strategic security of our state at a historic time for Ukraine,” Budanov said.
He is replacing Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s former chief of staff, who fell from grace late last year after an investigation by the Ukrainian national anti-corruption bureau named him as a suspect in “Operation Midas” — an alleged kickback scheme funneling money from the Energoatom nuclear power plant.
Following the allegations and a raid on his home by authorities, Yermak denied all allegations and announced he was heading to the front lines of the war effort.
“I’m going to the front and am prepared for any reprisals,” Yermak told the New York Post in a late November text message. “I am an honest and decent person.”
“I’ve been desecrated, and my dignity hasn’t been protected, despite having been in Kyiv since February 24, 202[2],” he said in the message. “I’m disgusted by the filth directed at me, and even more disgusted by the lack of support from those who know the truth.”
Budanov is widely considered one of the most eligible candidates to lead Ukraine as its next president.
While Zelensky has stated he does not intend to run again, a December poll from Socis found Budanov would be projected to win head-to-head with 56% to Zelensky’s 44%.