After Bakanov’s suspension: Zelenskyj appoints interim intelligence chief

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has appointed an interim chief of the country’s secret service. He had previously suspended central employees because numerous officials are said to be collaborating with Russia.

After the dismissal of the Ukrainian secret service chief Ivan Bakanov, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his previous deputy interim chief.

According to a decree issued on Monday, Vasyl Malyuk will initially head the SBU secret service. The 39-year-old had been Bakanov’s first deputy since March. The military received his legal training at the Intelligence Academy, after which he worked in the agency’s anti-corruption structures.

High-ranking officials dismissed

The day before, Zelenskyi had removed his childhood friend Bakanov, who had headed the service with its more than 30,000 employees since 2019, from the management of the SBU. Officially, the suspension of Bakanov and that of Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova was justified by a large number of employees who are said to have defected from the Ukrainian security apparatus to the Russian occupiers in southern Ukraine.

However, the media also reported that the 47-year-old Bakanov, as a non-specialist, enjoyed little authority among his employees. According to media reports, the current interim chief Maljuk was only recently involved in the arrest of a former high-ranking SBU official who is suspected of high treason because of the alleged transmission of secret information to Russia.

Security apparatus still in focus

In his regular message, Selenskyj once again commented on the suspensions.

Selenskyj spoke of the “self-purification of the authorities”. He announced that the inspection of the security apparatus would continue. Referring to his recent visits to the frontline regions, he indicated that he was personally concerned.

The President is known for his quick layoffs. He had already reassigned some important posts in the past with similar rigor. The reasons were sometimes obscure. This practice was considered controversial, and headlines followed. Selenskyj and his team were also criticized for the allocation of posts: decisions were not always made according to competencies.

Now Zelenskyy is a president who, after the historic decision on Ukraine’s EU accession status, is supposed to fight against corruption and nepotism. And he is a head of state of a country at war that wants to win it.

Approach in the south raises questions

The difficult situation in the south was a particular topic in Ukraine. Many wondered how Russia was able to occupy such large tracts of land in the southern regions so quickly. And it seemed – almost without resistance from the Ukrainian security services. Analysts wondered why, for example, some bridges were not blown – and Russian forces simply advanced. Especially in the Kherson region. Apparently the current suspensions are related to that.

Zelenskyi announced that another regional intelligence chief from the south had recently been arrested. There is now a suspicion of extensive collaboration with Russia. “Among other things, more than 60 employees of the public prosecutor’s office and the secret service stayed on the occupied territory and are working against our state,” said Zelenskyy. Such a stock of crimes against the foundations of national security, as well as the connections of security apparatus personnel to the Russian intelligence services, raise very serious questions to the relevant heads.

backgrounds are unclear

So far little is known about the background. After the start of the war, Attorney General Venediktova gave the impression of being a resolute prosecutor. Again and again she spoke to the media, met with counterparts from different countries. However, the career path of the law professor, who is the daughter of renowned Ukrainian lawyers, was not free of scandals.

What is particularly exciting, however, is the suspension of the head of the secret service, Bakanov, who headed Zelenskyi’s campaign team and is said to be a long-time companion. Now the president is suspending him – and even includes the corresponding paragraph in the decree: 47 – non-performance of official duties, which led to victims or other serious consequences. According to preliminary assessments, criminal prosecution may not be ruled out.