Ukraine’s Top Security Official Resigns Amid Zelenskyy’s Wartime Defense Shakeup

Ukraine is reshaping its defense and intelligence leadership and operations as U.S.-backed peace efforts and pressure from Russia continue.

Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine’s Security Service, speaks at a forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 25, 2024. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine’s top security chief, Vasyl Malyuk, has stepped down as head of the Security Service of Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accelerates a broader wartime reshuffle of senior defense, security, and diplomatic leadership.

Zelenskyy signed a decree on Jan. 5 appointing Yevhen Khmara, head of the Security Service’s elite special operations unit known as Center “A,” to serve as acting chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU.

In a public statement on the Telegram app, Malyuk said he was leaving the post of SBU chief but would remain inside the agency to focus on “world-class asymmetric special operations” that would continue to inflict “maximum damage on the enemy.” He thanked Zelenskyy for defense reforms and expressed hope in a “just peace” for Ukraine that would help the war-torn country flourish.

“I am confident that a strong and modern special service is the guarantor of our state’s security,” Malyuk said. “Eternal honor to those who gave their lives for our future.”

Zelenskyy confirmed the transition in a social media post, saying he had thanked Malyuk for his combat service and personally asked him to concentrate on asymmetric warfare, an area the president said represented his greatest strength.

“There must be more Ukrainian asymmetric operations against the occupier and the Russian state, and more solid results in eliminating the enemy,” Zelenskyy wrote. “I tasked Vasyl Malyuk with making our asymmetric operations the strongest in the world. The necessary resources and political support are in place.”

Khmara, who has overseen high-risk special operations throughout the nearly four-year war, was named acting head of the SBU under the Jan. 5 presidential decree. Zelenskyy said he and Malyuk also discussed candidates for a permanent appointment.

Zelenskyy said he met with Khmara on Jan. 5 and that the two men discussed scaling up the operations of the Center “A” special operations unit, as well as opportunities to bolster the “institutional development” of the SBU.

“Ukraine is achieving the necessary results in its defense, and all our warriors who make this possible deserve the highest respect and gratitude,” Zelenskyy said.

Wider Wartime Reshuffle

The leadership change at the security service comes amid a broader reshaping of Ukraine’s wartime government, as Kyiv seeks to tighten coordination between intelligence, defense, diplomacy, and technology while fighting continues and negotiations to end the conflict inch forward.

Over the past several days, Zelenskyy has announced or previewed multiple senior rotations. On Jan. 2, he appointed military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff, replacing Andrii Yermak, who stepped down amid a corruption probe. Zelenskyy described that move as essential to prioritizing defense, security, and diplomacy under direct presidential oversight.

On Jan. 5, Zelenskyy said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had presented plans for diplomatic rotations, including the selection of a new first deputy foreign minister, while separate discussions with newly nominated Defense Minister Mykhailo Federov focused on reforms aimed at accelerating weapons development, drone deployment, and battlefield technology.

“Russia has one significant advantage in this war—the ability to apply pressure through the scale of its strikes and assaults against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We must respond with more active use of technology, faster development of new types of weapons, and new tactics.”

He also met several senior SBU commanders on Jan. 5, praising counterintelligence and special-operations officers for strikes on Russian forces and signaling plans to expand those capabilities.

The changes come as Ukraine continues to face intense battlefield pressure from Russia while pursuing U.S.- and European-backed efforts to secure a negotiated end to the war without conceding territory. In a New Year’s address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants peace but not at the expense of its existence, rejecting any settlement he described as “weak” or imposed.

“My signature will be placed on a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every phone call, every decision is about now,” he said. “To secure a strong peace for everyone; not for a day, a week, or two months, but peace for years.”

Washington has offered a “strong” 15-year security guarantee to Kyiv as part of a proposed peace plan, Zelenskyy said last month, noting that his preference would be for a longer commitment—up to 50 years—in order to deter future Russian aggression.

Kimberly Hayek contributed to this report.