Budanov Accepts Top Presidential Office Post

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said on Friday he’s accepted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to lead the Presidential Office, calling the appointment “an honor” and “another milestone of responsibility to the country.”

The move comes as Zelenskyy seeks to refocus his administration on security and diplomatic priorities. “Now Ukraine needs more focus on security issues, the development of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track in negotiations,” Zelensky said after meeting with Budanov earlier today.

Budanov replaces Andriy Yermak in the role. People’s Deputy Zheleznyak said Budanov had previously been promised he could choose Yermak’s successor from among existing deputies, with deputy Ivashchenko slated for the job at Budanov’s request. Instead, Budanov himself now takes the position.

Ivashchenko to Lead Intelligence Directorate

Zelenskyy announced that Oleh Ivashchenko, current head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, will step into Budanov’s former role at the Main Intelligence Directorate.

The 20-year intelligence veteran from Sumy Oblast left government service in 2010 but returned five years later when his former classmate Valery Kondratyuk took charge of the intelligence directorate and named Ivashchenko his deputy. He later moved through positions in the General Staff before becoming head of Foreign Intelligence in March 2024.

Ivashchenko’s ties to the outgoing presidential office have drawn attention. On December 5, Yermak spent 45 minutes at Foreign Intelligence Service headquarters, after which Ivashchenko summoned the department head responsible for cover documents, according to zn.ua sources. Those same sources describe Ivashchenko as “one hundred percent Yermak’s man” who owes his career advancement to the former office chief.