Overview
- Zelensky offered Budanov the chief-of-staff role on Jan. 2, and Budanov accepted, pledging to focus on Ukraine’s strategic security.
- Formal procedures to install Budanov are underway, according to presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn.
- Zelensky instructed Budanov to work with national security bodies to update and submit the strategic foundations for defense and development.
- The move follows Yermak’s resignation on Nov. 28 after anti-corruption raids linked to an alleged $100 million energy kickback scheme.
- Foreign intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko was designated for a leading post in Defense Intelligence as Budanov transitions, who has led HUR since 2020 and is credited with operations targeting Russian forces.