Volodymyr Zelenskiy appoints new spy chief after Russian infiltration

• Vasyl Maliuk, a former SBU first deputy chief, has been named acting head of the agency. Ivan Bakanov and prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova were suspended on Sunday.
• Recent dismissals by Volodymyr Zelenskiy hint at divisions within his inner circle. The EU’s foreign policy leader warned that Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports to the Black Sea may have “life and death” repercussions.
• Russia said on Monday that Sergei Shoigu, Ukraine’s defence minister, had instructed the military to focus on eliminating western-supplied rockets and artillery.

After a reorganisation that has raised new concerns about Russian intelligence leaking information into important ministries and hinted at divisions within Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s inner circle, the president of Ukraine has appointed an experienced security official as acting head of the domestic security agency.

Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelenskiy’s who had been in charge of the 30,000-person state security service, the SBU, since 2019, was abruptly suspended on Sunday along with prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova, who had been in charge of war crimes investigations, due to recent anonymous briefings against him over claims of failure to counter Russian infiltration.

Vasyl Maliuk, a former SBU first deputy chief who oversaw the agency’s central directorate’s anti-corruption and organised crime unit, was named Bakanov’s replacement on Monday, according to Zelenskiy.

Although the widespread Russian participation in the two departments was given as the justification for the dismissals, it also seems to reflect crucial actors jockeying for position close to the president.

Before the invasion, Zelenskiy, who was praised for his leadership during the conflict, faced domestic allegations that he had hired unqualified foreigners, including friends, for positions that were above their scope.

Recent dismissals by Zelenskiy include those of the ambassadors to Hungary, Norway, the Czech Republic, India, and five other nations, including Germany. Additionally, there was a public argument with the commander of his military forces last month.

Being a Kryvyi Rih native, Bakanov in particular was seen as a close friend of Zelenskiy. In addition to working for Zelenskiy’s Studio Kvartal-95 production firm, he oversaw the former actor’s presidential campaign office. He was charged with holding a key role in a private corporation registered in Spain at the time of his appointment, ostensibly in violation of Ukrainian anti-corruption laws.

While experts speculate that one reason for the increase in hostile briefings against important individuals is to show the Ukrainian people that Zelenskiy will not accept poor performance, it has been more frequent recently.

The two were suspended, not dismissed, as had been initially reported, according to Andriy Smyrnov, Zelenskiy’s deputy chief of staff. Everyone has been waiting long enough for more drastic and maybe concrete actions from the leaders of these two organisations to rid them of traitors and accomplices, he said. In spite of this, dozens of these individuals are still being discovered at each of these institutions in the sixth month of the conflict.

Three weeks ago, Zelenskiy was rumoured to be planning to replace Bakanov due to complaints that his agency was unprepared for the Russian invasion, particularly due to its failure to destroy a crucial bridge to Kherson in the south, according to an article for Politico that cited unnamed senior officials.

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According to the story, Zelenskiy and Bakanov did not communicate frequently, the president was concerned about the perception of firing someone from his inner circle, and the everyday operations of the SBU were being managed from the executive branch.

We are attempting to remove him from his position because we are quite dissatisfied with it, a Zelenskiy-related official told the website. Since you now require… anti-crisis management talents, which we don’t believe he possesses, we are not comfortable with his managerial, you know, [skills].

When asked about Bakanov’s status at a press conference on June 27, Zelenskiy appeared to imply that it was secure. He declared, “If I had wanted to fire the head of Ukraine’s security service, I would have done so already.

The presidential order that announced the suspension of the two officers mentioned hundreds of criminal cases involving alleged treason and cooperation by individuals within their departments and other law enforcement organisations.

Zelenskiy added in his nightly video message to the nation, “In particular, more than 60 workers of the prosecutor’s office and the SBU [state security service] have remained in the seized region and operate against our state.”

Such a wide range of offences against the pillars of the nation’s security, along with the connections between Russian and Ukrainian special forces that have been revealed, create very severe concerns about each country’s authorities.

Oleh Kulinich, a former leader of the SBU in Crimea who was dismissed in March, was detained over the weekend on charges of high treason.

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More surprisingly, Venediktova, another ex-employee of Zelenskiy’s campaign headquarters, was suspended. Her department’s shortcomings in relation to a number of significant anti-corruption investigations have made her a more contentious figure in Ukraine, despite her admiration from western officials and the media.

Six persons were killed by Russian shelling on the combat lines in the ravaged eastern Ukraine, according to Kyiv on Monday.

The collapsed remnants of a two-story building in Toretsk that was hit by Russian artillery could be seen being cleared by rescue workers wearing blue helmets as they dug through debris and cleared the rubble.

Additionally, Russia said on Monday that Sergei Shoigu, Ukraine’s defence minister, had instructed the military to focus on eliminating western-supplied rockets and artillery, which have struck several Russian ammo depots and command centres since entering service.

The EU’s foreign policy leader warned that Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports to the Black Sea may have “life and death” repercussions as foreign ministers from the EU gathered to consider tightening sanctions against Moscow.

However, a Turkish official suggested that any “minor difficulties” with a deal would be resolved because representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN are scheduled to meet again this week to discuss resuming exports.

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