Ukraine’s security service and the prosecutor general are ready for a revamp after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked two senior officials over claims that they have failed to clear their agencies of “collaborators and traitors” as the new interim intelligence boss took office on Monday.
Ivan Bakanov lost his job on Sunday, officially because of reports that so many members of the intelligence community have defected to work for Russian invaders and separatists in the country’s south and east amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova also lost her job for the same reason on Sunday.
But a lot of Ukrainian media is reporting that the real reason for Bakanov’s dismissal is his lack of background in intelligence, which has left him struggling for authority among his staff.
Bakanov ran a television station before joining his friend Zelenskyy’s presidential campaign and then getting the job as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
His replacement, Vasyl Hrytsak, reportedly was critical of the recent arrest of a former high-ranking SBU official who stands accused of high treason for feeding information to Russia amid the invasion.
Hrytsak was Bakanov’s deputy and is now interim head of the SBU, according to a presidential decree issued on Monday. Hrytsak studied law at an SBU academy and has played a key role in its anti-corruption unit.
Zelenskyy cited hundreds of criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people within those departments and other law enforcement agencies.
“Six months into the war, we continue to uncover loads of these people in each of these agencies,” Andriy Smirnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Monday.
Analysts said the move is designed to strengthen Zelenskyy’s control over the army and security agencies, which have been led by people appointed before the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. Zelenskyy “needs an effective Prosecutor (General’s) office, and (an effective) SBU” agency, Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Penta Center think tank, told The Associated Press (AP).
“In the conditions of a war, Zelenskyy needs leaders that are capable of tackling several tasks at the same time – to resist Russia’s intrigues within the country to create a fifth column, to be in contact and coordination with international experts, to do their actual job effectively,” Fesenko said.
Bakanov is a childhood friend and former business partner of Zelenskyy, who appointed him to head the SBU. Bakanov had come under growing criticism over security breaches since the war began.
Venediktova won international praise for her drive to gather war-crimes evidence against Russian military commanders and officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, over the destruction of Ukrainian cities and the killing of civilians. The 43-year-old former law professor opened thousands of criminal investigations and identified hundreds of suspects, interviewing victims while coordinating efforts with foreign donors and officials.
After appointing an acting chief prosecutor on Sunday, Zelenskyy signed a decree Monday naming the first deputy head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, as acting head. Maliuk, 39, is known for his efforts to fight corruption in the security agencies; his appointment was seen as part of Zelenskyy’s efforts to get rid of pro-Russian staffers in the SBU.
“Maliuk was fighting corruption within the SBU, so (he) has compromising materials on many staff members and can control the personnel, many of whom are looking in the direction of Russia,” political analyst Vadym Karasiov, head of the Global Strategies Institute, told the AP.
Fesenko added that discontent with the two officials has been brewing for a while, and it was possible that Ukraine’s Western partners pointed out the underperformance of the SBU and the prosecutor general’s office to Zelenskyy.
Ukraine has been fending off the Russian invasion for nearly five months. The United Nations has recorded over 5,100 civilians killed.
An adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow plans to impose tougher conditions on Ukraine in case peace talks are resumed.
According to Yuri Ushakov, concrete results were achieved during talks in March in Turkey before Kyiv broke off contact. However, “if negotiations are resumed now, it will be on completely different terms,” Ushakov said, according to the RBK news agency, without further details.