‘The Kremlin will open the champagne’

Zelensky replaces SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk amid intelligence shake-up

Vasyl Malyuk, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), has submitted his resignation. After meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, Malyuk announced that he was stepping down from his post but would remain within the agency. Though it remains unclear what position he’ll take up next, Malyuk said he will be involved in “world-class asymmetric special operations that will continue inflicting maximum damage on the enemy.”

Zelensky has appointed Major General Yevhenii Khmara as the SBU’s acting head. A career intelligence officer, Khmara previously led the SBU’s Alpha special operations unit. His appointment as permanent SBU chief will require approval by Ukraine’s parliament.

Malyuk began serving as the acting head of the SBU in July 2022 and became the agency’s permanent chief in February 2023. During his tenure, the SBU carried out a series of high-profile operations inside Russia, including Operation Spiderweb, three attacks on the Crimean Bridge, and sustained strikes against oil refineries deep within Russian territory.

Inside Ukraine, Malyuk’s leadership was widely seen as a success. In the words of RBC Ukraine, before the full-scale invasion, the SBU’s role was largely limited to domestic security — but under Malyuk, it became a “full-fledged participant in the war and a global brand.”

“It was he who turned the SBU into an effective special service that conducts unique special operations and gives Ukraine strong ‘cards’ at the negotiating table,” an unnamed Ukrainian official told Politico on January 3. This source also warned that Malyuk’s departure would seriously weaken the spy agency. “The Kremlin will open the champagne if Malyuk is dismissed from his post,” the official said.

Rumors of Malyuk’s impending resignation began circulating in early January. Against that backdrop, prominent military commanders and analysts posted messages of support on social media almost simultaneously on January 3, sharing positive accounts of working with Malyuk and emphasizing that he was “exactly where he belongs.”

Ukrainska Pravda later reported that according to its sources, Malyuk had refused to submit his resignation during a meeting with Zelensky on Saturday. The spy chief reportedly argued that several large-scale operations — comparable to Operation Spiderweb — were nearing completion, and that it would be “criminal” to abandon them. Malyuk then proposed that the question of his dismissal be referred to parliament. Zelensky was “furious,” Ukrainska Pravda said.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Malyuk came under heavy pressure and ultimately agreed to step down on Sunday, having concluded that escalating tensions with the president would harm the state.

People close to Malyuk told Ukrainska Pravda that they view his resignation as retaliation by Zelensky’s former chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who is believed to retain significant informal influence. They claimed the move was payback for Malyuk’s lack of loyalty during the corruption scandal that ultimately cost Yermak his job. (Prior to his resignation, Yermak was considered the second-most powerful figure in Ukraine.)

Zelensky is currently carrying out a sweeping reshuffle of the government and security services, which began on January 2 with the appointment of former military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as head of the president’s office. Oleh Ivashchenko, who previous led Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, was named as Budanov’s successor at the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR).

Zelensky has also proposed that Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal take up the post of energy minister, which has been vacant since Svitlana Hrynchuk’s dismissal last November. The post of defense minister is expected to go to Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who previously played a key role in the development of the Ukrainian drone market as part of the Army of Drones initiative. That said, cabinet appointments must also be put to a parliamentary vote.