Kirilo Budanov and Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: X / Volodymyr Zelensky
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence service (GUR), General Kirilo Budanov, will become the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, according to a surprise announcement by Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
“I met with Kirilo Budanov and offered him the position of head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on his social media accounts.
“At the moment, Ukraine needs to focus more on security issues, on the development of Ukraine's defense and security forces, as well as on the diplomatic path of negotiations, and the Office of the President will primarily serve to fulfill these tasks of our state. Kirilo has specialized experience in these areas and enough power to achieve results,” the Ukrainian leader explained.
“I also instructed the new head of the President's Office, in cooperation with the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and other relevant leaders and institutions, to update and submit for approval the strategic foundations of the defense and development of our state, as well as the next steps,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian General Kirilo Budanov, head of the GUR, the service responsible for numerous major actions against Russia, was also one of its main targets, with over ten assassination attempts on him.
His last public appearance was on Thursday, when Ukraine revealed that a Russian military commander fighting on Kiev's side, whose death was reported last week, was actually alive and that his death had been staged to identify Russian agents.
“Congratulations on your return to life, it's always a joy,” said the head of the GUR, Kirilo Budanov, in a video conference discussion with Denis Kapustin, broadcast by his services.
The position of Zelenskiy's chief of staff has been vacant since late November, when Andrii Iermak resigned after being targeted by raids in a corruption scandal in Ukraine.
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The decree appointing the 39-year-old general to the presidential post has not yet been published.
Budanov has headed the GUR military intelligence service since being appointed to the post by Zelenskiy in August 2020.
Since the large-scale invasion of Russia on 24 February 2022, he has been involved in prisoner exchanges and served as chairman of a body that coordinates the treatment of prisoners of war.
He was decorated with the title of “Hero of Ukraine” and repeatedly participated in special operations.
