New intelligence chief seeks to weaken Budanov's influence and remove his people from posts

Oleh Ivashchenko, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), is attempting to weaken the influence of his predecessor, Kyrylo Budanov, over DIU and has already removed many of his people from their positions.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article

Details: Sources have told Ukrainska Pravda that Ivashchenko is "doing everything he can to stamp out" former military intelligence chief Budanov's influence over DIU.

"Ivashchenko has removed a lot of Kyrylo's people from their posts," a UP source in the security services said.

The DIU chief also cooperates closely with Oleksandr Poklad, the acting head of Ukraine's Security Service (SSU), on operational matters.

An influential law enforcement official told UP that Poklad may let Ivashchenko know about DIU staff members who he believes are in a "high-risk group".

"Poklad lets Ivashchenko know that someone in the DIU staff may be in the 'high-risk group'. Ivashchenko listens and reacts quickly," the UP source said.

Against this backdrop, the tension between Budanov and Poklad, who were never on friendly terms before, is intensifying.

Sources within the president's team said Budanov even threatened to resign as head of the President's Office if Zelenskyy proposed Poklad's appointment as head of the SSU to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament).

Ukrainska Pravda also reports that Oleksandr Poklad has begun building his own chain of command within the SSU by making sweeping personnel changes, but there are currently not enough votes in the Verkhovna Rada for him to be appointed as the permanent head of the Service.

Oleh Ivashchenko was previously head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. He was appointed head of DIU by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 2 January 2026.

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