Personnel reshuffles expected in Ukraine’s security bloc – media

Journalist and Chairman of the Board of the Institute of World Policy, Viktor Shlinchak, published a post on Facebook reporting on potential large-scale personnel changes in Ukraine’s security sector.

According to him, over the past two weeks, political circles have been increasingly discussing possible reshuffles in the country’s key security institutions.

This was reported by Kommersant Ukrainian.

Possible changes include:

• Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko may be promoted to the position of Deputy Prime Minister.

• Ivan Vyhivskyi, the current head of the National Police, is reportedly being considered as a candidate for the position of Interior Minister.

• Defense Minister Rustem Umerov may be appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States — an extremely important diplomatic role amid the ongoing war, according to Shlinchak.

• His possible successor as Defense Minister could be Vasyl Maliuk, who currently heads the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

• If Maliuk moves to the Ministry of Defense, the SBU could be led by one of two candidates: Oleksii Sukhachov, Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, or Oleksandr Poklad, Deputy Head of the SBU.

• Changes are also expected in the intelligence sector: current Chief of the Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, may be appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SZR), while his replacement at HUR could be Oleh Ivashchenko, who currently leads the SZR.

These anticipated changes may signal a strategic regrouping of the country’s top leadership in the fields of security and defense. If implemented, this would be the most extensive reshuffle in Ukraine’s security bloc in recent times.

No official statements have yet been made by the Office of the President or the relevant ministries.

Anna Tkachenko