In a major personnel change, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has resigned General Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Ukrainian security service SBOe who gained fame with spectacular operations behind Russian lines. Although Maliuk reportedly strongly opposed his dismissal, according to sources, he announced his transfer on Monday a message on the SBOe’s Telegram channel. “I am leaving the post of head of the Security Service. I will remain within the system to conduct world-class asymmetric special operations, which will continue to inflict maximum damage on the enemy,” Maliuk wrote. His departure follows the appointment last Friday of Kyrylo Budanov as Zelensky’s new chief of staff. Yevhen Chmara, head of another SBOe department, has been appointed interim chief of the service.
The 42-year-old Maliuk was, among other things, the mastermind behind Operation Spider’s Web, in which drones hidden in Russian trucks carried out attacks on military targets in northern Russia last year. At least ten Russian military aircraft were reportedly destroyed and several dozen damaged in the operation, which had been prepared for months. Maliuk also organized several attacks on the (Russian) Crimean bridge. He has fought in the Ukrainian army since 2014, worked in the anti-terror and anti-corruption services and briefly served as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs in the early days of the invasion.
Corruption scandal
Although Zelensky did not give a direct reason for Maliuk’s resignation, his departure appears to be related to the large-scale corruption scandal that came to light at the end of last year. According to sources of the newspaper Ukraine Pravda Maliuk’s dismissal would be an attempt by Zelensky to distance himself from the circle of his former chief of staff and confidant Andriy Jermak, who had to leave the field at the end of last year due to the corruption scandal. According to the newspaper, the circle around Maliuk sees his dismissal as an act of revenge by Jermak. Zelensky kept a low profile and said he needed “new faces” after four years of war.
Mihaylo Fyodorov, Ukraine’s new Defense Minister.
Photo Anna Voitenko/Reuters
With the approval of parliament, there will also be a new face for Defense. There, Minister Denis Shmyhal, appointed last summer, will make way for Mihaylo Fjodorov, Minister for Digital Transformation since 2019 and briefly Deputy Prime Minister. The 34-year-old Fjodorov is the only minister who has held on to one post all these years. He achieved success with the digitalization of public services and the development of drones and military technology. In addition, he was a driving force behind Zelensky’s presidential campaign in 2019 and emerged in 2024 as the only minister who inspired “more trust than distrust” among the Ukrainian people, according to a profile from The Kyiv Independent.
With the personnel changes, Zelensky appears to be preparing for possible presidential elections, an important point in the drawn-out peace negotiations with the US and Russia. Under heavy pressure from US President Donald Trump, Zelensky said last December that he was willing to organize a referendum in the Donbas as well as a national presidential election, although the Ukrainian constitution prohibits this in wartime and a large part of Ukrainian voters reside outside Ukraine. Moreover, it is far from certain that Zelensky will win the elections. Apart from the logistical obstacles, there are fears of Russian interference in the polls.
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