Ukrainian military intelligence chief Budanov appointed as head of the President's Office by Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) said on Friday that he had offered the key position of head of the President's Office to Kyrylo Budanov, director of the State Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense. Budanov later stated that he accepted Zelenskyy's invitation and would take up the post of head of the President's Office.

Budanov will replace Andriy Yermak, a long-time confidant of Zelenskyy, in leading the Ukrainian President's Office.

Yermak resigned in November last year over a corruption scandal, which intensified public anger over the persistent corruption at the top of Ukraine, while the Ukrainian military was fighting a life-and-death battle against the invading Russian forces.

Yermak had been the Ukrainian chief negotiator in the U.S.-backed peace talks. He is currently not listed as a suspect in the $100 million kickback case in the energy sector.

Zelenskyy introduced on the X platform on Friday, "I held a meeting with Kyrylo Budanov and offered him the position of head of the President's Office. At this time, Ukraine needs to pay more attention to security issues, the development of the Ukrainian defense and security forces, and diplomatic negotiations, and the main responsibility of the President's Office is to fulfill these national missions."

Zelenskyy added, "Kyrylo has rich professional experience and sufficient capability to achieve results in these areas. I also instructed the new head of the President's Office to cooperate with the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and other relevant leaders and agencies to update and submit the basic framework and subsequent steps of our country's defense and development strategy for approval."

Budanov, who will turn 40 on Sunday, has been serving as director of the State Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense since August 2020 when Zelenskyy appointed him. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he has participated in prisoner exchanges and served as chairman of the coordination body for the treatment of prisoners. He has been awarded the title of "Hero of Ukraine" and has participated in several special operations.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1853254092067851/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.