Analyst explains Zelenskyy's potential move on SBU chief Maliuk

News agency Ukrainska Pravda recently reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to dismiss Vasyk Maliuk, head of Ukraine’s SBU Security Service, and appoint him head of the Foreign Intelligence Service or secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Regarding Maliuk... We also remember the reaction when there was talk earlier, for example, about dismissing [Kyrylo] Budanov, how much negativity there was on that account, because how could we strip the Main Intelligence Directorate, so much constructive and effective work had been implemented.

Now the reaction to Maliuk is absolutely identical, perhaps even greater in scale — that is what I am seeing on social media. This, again, is the specific competence of Ukraine's president; the president bears political responsibility.

I personally consider the Security Service of Ukraine under Mr. Maliuk one of the most effective, if not the most effective, periods of SBU activity in general.

But the question here is what the president might propose to Maliuk, and whether he proposes it at all, because these are rumors: either Maliuk as NSDC secretary, or indeed to the Foreign Intelligence Service, and so on.

In this situation, we still see some resistance even within the Security Service itself to this possible reshuffle.

That is, this topic, you know, is like with the defense minister: it is stretched out over time. We understand that there will not be a Verkhovna Rada session tomorrow where this all happens. So this is just now, obviously, a signal that some changes are worth making, some not.

But in any case, as I emphasized now, this is the president's specific political responsibility. And here I draw attention that people are not thrown overboard; it is just about reformatting, perhaps someone can show themselves even better in another position. But this is really a matter for further internal communication with the head of state.