Head of Ukraine's security service Maliuk to be replaced, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he planned to replace the head of the country's SBU security service, Vasyl Maliuk, as part of a wider reshuffle that has also seen a new presidential chief of staff.

Maliuk was appointed SBU chief in Feb 2023, having already served as acting head for months before.

During his tenure, the service has carried out a number of high-profile operations, including an audacious drone attack on dozens of Russian strategic bombers stationed thousands of kilometers from Ukraine.

The SBU said he also oversaw a strike on a Russian submarine and three attacks on the bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula, a crucial logistical node for Moscow.

Maliuk has been praised by analysts for improving the SBU's effectiveness, after his predecessor Ivan Bakanov was dismissed by Zelensky in July 2022 for failing to root out Russian spies.

Zelensky said on X that he had asked Maliuk instead to focus more on combat operations, adding: "There must be more Ukrainian asymmetric operations against the occupier and the Russian state, and more solid results in eliminating the enemy."

The move comes days after Zelenskiy announced military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov would become his new chief of staff, and that he would seek to appoint new defence and energy ministers.