President Zelenskyy Dismisses Successive Intelligence Agency Staff

Zelensky "Allegations of Cooperation with Russia Revealed"
"A Leader Needed to Oppose Russia"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 18th (local time) that he is considering additional dismissals of employees of the State Security Service (SBU), Ukraine's intelligence agency.

In a national address, President Zelensky said, "An audit of SBU employees is underway," adding, "The dismissal of 28 individuals is being reviewed." He cited poor job performance as the reason for the dismissals.

The day before, President Zelensky also announced the dismissal of the SBU chief and the Prosecutor General, stating, "Numerous allegations of collaboration with Russia have been uncovered within these organizations."

This has been interpreted as an intention to strengthen presidential control over the military and intelligence agencies. The Associated Press reported that Volodymyr Pesenko of the Ukrainian think tank Penta Center analyzed, "President Zelensky likely needed a leader capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously during wartime." He added, "The leader must be able to counter Russian conspiracies, coordinate with international experts, and efficiently execute actual operations."

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