Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), could announce his resignation as early as today, January 5. However, sources indicate that the Verkhovna Rada currently lacks the necessary votes to approve the move.
According to reports from Ukrainska Pravda and RBC-Ukraine, citing sources in parliament and the government, the proposal came during a major cabinet reshuffle that began last Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly asked Malyuk to transition to a different role, with options including head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (replacing Oleh Ivashchenko) or Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (replacing Rustem Umerov). Malyuk declined, arguing that several major operations on the scale of "Spiderweb" (Pavutyna) are in their final stages, making his departure ill-timed.
Political insiders suggest the primary driver for the potential dismissal is a loss of presidential confidence. Sources link the tension to Malyuk’s stance on "Operation Midas" and ongoing cases involving NABU and SAP. It is alleged that the SBU chief refused to openly side with the Office of the President, instead bringing anti-corruption leadership into negotiations. His neutral position during the "Mindichgate" scandal also reportedly raised questions.
Potential Successors
Sources suggest that personnel changes may have been planned in advance. Specifically:
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Oleh Ivashchenko was moved to military intelligence (HUR) to vacate his previous post for Malyuk.
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Oleksandr Poklad, one of Malyuk’s deputies, is being considered as a potential successor to lead the SBU.
Despite these plans, removing the SBU head requires a parliamentary vote with a minimum of 226 in favor. Members of the "Servant of the People" party note they have yet to receive a formal explanation for Malyuk’s dismissal, and there is currently no consensus in the chamber to support the move.
