Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promoted the head of the country’s military intelligence agency to serve as his new chief of staff on Friday — filling a vacancy left by an alleged $100 million corruption scandal.
Zelenskyy’s new top aide, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, led Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) beginning in 2020, and is a popular and recognizable wartime figure, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday. The new appointment comes over a month following the Nov. 28 resignation of Zelenskyy’s previous chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, after anti-corruption watchdogs raided the aide’s house in the course of an investigation into corruption in Ukraine’s energy sector.
“At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations, and the Office of the President will primarily serve the fulfillment of these tasks of our state,” President Zelenskyy said of Budanov’s promotion on X Friday. “Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results.”
“The position of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine is another line of responsibility before the state,” Budanov said on X Friday. “It is both an honor and a profound commitment, especially at this decisive moment in our country’s history, to focus on issues critical to Ukraine’s strategic security.”
Budanov regularly appeared in interviews and broadcasts as a public figure in the war since the start of the Russian invasion of 2022, according to the AP. During Budanov’s tenure leading the GUR, the agency expanded operations targeting Russian military capabilities through the coordination of intelligence and execution of sabotage and special operations missions.
“I am grateful for the trust. I extend my sincere gratitude to my fellow service members and to the entire DIU team for our work,” Budanov continued in his X post. “We will continue to do what must be done — to strike the enemy, defend Ukraine, and work tirelessly toward a just peace.”
Yermak, Budanov’s predecessor for the top aide role, was a lead negotiator and trusted confidante of Zelenskyy, NPR reported following his exit in November. Yermak resigned after investigators raided his home and, according to some media outlets, his office, potentially for connections to an alleged $100 million fraud scheme involving the Ukrainian energy sector.
Zelenskyy’s new appointment comes shortly after Russian authorities accused the Ukrainian government of conducting a strike on a Russian-occupied village in southern Ukraine during a New Year’s celebration, which they say killed 27, including two minors.
“On January 1, the Kherson Region’s Governor Vladimir Saldo reported that the Ukrainian forces had attacked a cafe and hotel in Khorly with drones, where civilians were celebrating the New Year,” reported Russian state media TASS. “According to preliminary reports, at least 24 people were killed. One of the drones was armed with an incendiary mixture. Many of the victims were burned alive.”
Ukrainian officials, though, strongly denied the accusation of targeting civilians. A spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, said that the forces “carry out strikes exclusively against Russian military targets, facilities of the Russian fuel and energy sector, and other lawful targets,” the AP reported Friday.
The new developments come as President Donald Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff work toward a peace solution for the region, with Trump saying in late December 2025 that they are “closer than ever before” to reaching an agreement.
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