KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appointed the head of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence as his new chief of staff, a move that comes as the U.S. leads a diplomatic push to end Russia\u2019s nearly 4-year-old invasion.<\/p>\n
Announcing the appointment of Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs to focus on security issues, developing its defense and security forces, and peace talks \u2014 areas that are overseen by the office of the president.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy had dismissed his previous chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, after anti-corruption officials began investigating alleged graft in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
The president framed Budanov\u2019s appointment as part of a broader effort to sharpen the focus on security, defense development and diplomacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to achieve results,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n
Budanov, 39, said on Telegram his new position is \u201cboth an honor and a responsibility \u2014 at a historic time for Ukraine \u2014 to focus on the critically important issues of the state\u2019s strategic security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy appointed Foreign Intelligence Service head Oleh Ivashchenko to replace Budanov as GUR chief.<\/p>\n
\u2018Prominent face of Kyiv\u2019s intelligence effort\u2019<\/p>\n
Budanov is one of the country\u2019s most recognizable and popular wartime figures. He has led Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence agency, known by its acronym GUR, since 2020.<\/p>\n
A career military intelligence officer, he rose through the defense establishment after Russia\u2019s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. He also took part in special operations and intelligence missions linked to the fighting with Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine before the full-scale invasion of February 2022. He reportedly was wounded during one such operation.<\/p>\n
Since the full-scale invasion, Budanov has become a prominent face of Kyiv\u2019s intelligence effort, regularly appearing in interviews and briefings that mix strategic signaling with psychological pressure on Moscow. He has frequently warned of Russia\u2019s long-term intentions toward Ukraine and the region, while portraying the war as an existential struggle for the country\u2019s statehood.<\/p>\n
Under Budanov, the GUR expanded its operational footprint, coordinating intelligence, sabotage and special operations aimed at degrading Russian military capabilities far beyond the front lines. Ukrainian officials have credited military intelligence with operations targeting Russian command structures, logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and naval assets, including strikes deep inside Russian territory and occupied areas.<\/p>\n
His appointment to lead the office of the president marks an unusual shift, placing an intelligence chief at the center of Ukraine\u2019s political and diplomatic coordination.<\/p>\n
Ihor Reiterovych, a Kyiv-based independent political expert, noted that Budanov had participated in the talks with the U.S. and \u201cwill fit much more naturally into the overall context\u201d of the negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike Yermak, he has both experience in this field and has worked in a relevant position,\u201d Reiterovych said, adding that the GUR also has had certain contacts with Russia on issues such as prisoner exchanges.<\/p>\n
Russia reports a higher death toll from a strike<\/p>\n
Russian authorities said Friday the death toll from what they called a Ukrainian drone strike on a cafe and hotel in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine\u2019s Kherson region rose to 28. Kyiv strongly denied attacking civilian targets.<\/p>\n
Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman of Russia\u2019s main criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, said those killed in the village of Khorly, where at least 100 civilians were celebrating New Year\u2019s Eve, included two minors, while 31 people were hospitalized.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Ukraine\u2019s General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, denied attacking civilians. He told Ukraine\u2019s public broadcaster Suspilne on Thursday that Ukrainian forces \u201cadhere to the norms of international humanitarian law\u201d and \u201ccarry out strikes exclusively against Russian military targets, facilities of the Russian fuel and energy sector, and other lawful targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that Russia has repeatedly used disinformation and false statements to disrupt the ongoing peace negotiations.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press could not independently verify claims made about the attack.<\/p>\n
Washington praises progress in negotiations<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump\u2019s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner had a \u201cproductive call\u201d with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine \u201cto discuss advancing the next steps in the European peace process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. efforts has faced a new obstacle earlier this week, when Moscow said it would toughen its negotiating stand after what it said was a long-range drone attack against a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in northwestern Russia early Monday.<\/p>\n
Kyiv has denied attacking Putin\u2019s residence, saying the Russian claim was a ruse to derail the negotiations.<\/p>\n
In his New Year\u2019s address, Zelenskyy said a peace deal was \u201c90% ready\u201d but warned that the remaining 10% \u2014 believed to include key sticking points such as territory \u2014 would \u201cdetermine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overnight attacks<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential area of Kharkiv with two missiles Friday, Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram page, adding that Moscow\u2019s forces \u201ccontinue the killings, despite all the efforts of the world, and above all the United States, in the diplomatic process.\u201d<\/p>\n
At least 19 people in the eastern city were injured, including a 6-month-old, said regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov.<\/p>\n
The Russian Defense Ministry denied launching any strikes with missiles or other airborne weapons on Kharkiv on Friday and suggested, without offering evidence, that the damage could have been caused by the detonation of ammunition at a weapons depot.<\/p>\n
Earlier Friday, Russia conducted what local authorities called \u201cone of the most massive\u201d drone attacks at Zaporizhzhia. At least nine drones struck the city, damaging dozens of residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure but causing no casualties, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional administration.<\/p>\n
Overall, Russia fired 116 long-range drones at Ukraine, according to Ukraine\u2019s air force, with 86 intercepted and 27 striking their targets.<\/p>\n
The Russian ministry said its air defenses intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones overnight in multiple Russian regions.<\/p>\n
The Russian city of Belgorod was hit by a Ukrainian missile, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two women were hospitalized after the strike, which shattered windows and damaged an unspecified commercial facility and a number of cars in the region that borders Ukraine, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appointed the head of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence as his new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[5606,5607,5602,2000,299,159012,4669,332,657,14428,14432],"class_list":{"0":"post-669580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-circulated-defense-news","9":"tag-defense-news","10":"tag-dn-dnr","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-kyrylo-budanov","14":"tag-military-intelligence","15":"tag-russia","16":"tag-ukraine","17":"tag-ukraine-russia-war","18":"tag-zelenskyy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115827097428220325","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}