{"id":489398,"date":"2026-01-03T12:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T12:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/489398\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T12:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T12:23:10","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-ukrainian-general-picked-by-zelenskyy-to-be-his-new-chief-of-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/489398\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about the Ukrainian general picked by Zelenskyy to be his new chief of staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has chosen Gen. Kyrylo Budanov,<\/a> Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, as his new chief of staff, a move that comes at an especially critical moment in Russia’s nearly 4-year-old invasion.<\/a><\/p>\n

Budanov replaces Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy\u2019s longtime right-hand man who resigned in November<\/a> after anti-corruption officials raided his apartment in an investigation into alleged graft in Ukraine’s energy sector. The move against the powerful aide was a blow to the president that risked disrupting his negotiating strategy amid a U.S. peace effort.<\/p>\n

What to know about Budanov:<\/p>\n

Budanov has led the military intelligence agency, known by its acronym GUR, since 2020. At 39, he is one of Ukraine’s most recognizable and popular wartime figures, known for being the architect of many successful operations targeting Russian military assets, as well as for his independent and enigmatic personality.<\/p>\n

A career military intelligence officer, Budanov brings battlefield knowledge to his new position.<\/p>\n

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 and Crimea before the full-scale invasion of February 2022. He reportedly was wounded during one such operation.<\/p>\n

Since that invasion, Budanov has become a prominent face of Kyiv\u2019s intelligence effort, appearing regularly in interviews and briefings that mix strategic signaling with psychological pressure on Russia. He has warned frequently of Moscow\u2019s long-term intentions toward Ukraine and the region, portraying the war as an existential struggle for the country\u2019s statehood.<\/p>\n

Under Budanov, the GUR expanded its footprint, coordinating intelligence, sabotage and special operations aimed at degrading Russia’s military capabilities far beyond the front lines.<\/p>\n

Officials have credited the military intelligence service with operations targeting Russian command structures, logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and naval assets, including attacks deep inside Russian territory and occupied areas of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Budanov\u2019s role and public status has made him a target. He reportedly has survived multiple assassination attempts by the Russian security services. In November 2023, his wife, Marianna, was hospitalized in Kyiv with heavy metals poisoning.<\/p>\n

His appointment to lead the presidential administration signals a shift at the heart of government to prioritize foreign policy, defense and security amid the intensifying diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion. Zelenskyy says a peace deal is \u201c90% ready\u201d but warned that the remaining 10% \u2014 believed to include key issues such as territory \u2014 would \u201cdetermine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe.”<\/p>\n

Budanov served as part of the delegation that worked with the U.S. negotiating team. He also has had contact with the Russian side on issues such as coordinating prisoner exchanges. It\u2019s not yet clear what role, if any, he will take in the peace process in his new position.<\/p>\n

In his first comments after the appointment was announced, Budanov thanked Zelenskyy for his trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to serve Ukraine,\u201d he wrote on his Telegram page. “For me, it is both 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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has chosen Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, as his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":489399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[220785,347,57,8132,108029,50,3657,96,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-489398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-220785","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-military-and-defense","12":"tag-military-occupations","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","15":"tag-war-and-unrest","16":"tag-world","17":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115831153179158058","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}