KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday named the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service as its new chief of staff, a move that comes as the United States leads diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.
Announcing the appointment of General Kyrilo Budanov, Zelensky said Ukraine needed to focus on security issues, developing defense and security forces and peace negotiations – areas overseen by the presidential office.
Zelensky fired his former chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, after anti-corruption officials began investigating alleged corruption in the energy industry.
The president sees Budanov’s appointment as part of a broader effort to increase focus on security, defense development and diplomacy.
“Kairillo has expertise in these areas and is well positioned to deliver results,” Zelensky said.
Budanov, 39, said on Telegram that his new position was “both an honor and a responsibility to focus on vital issues of the country’s strategic security at this historic moment in Ukraine.”
Zelensky appointed Foreign Intelligence Service chief Ole Ivashenko to replace Budanov as head of the General Intelligence Service.
“An outstanding figure in Kyiv intelligence work”
Budanov was one of the country’s best-known and most beloved wartime figures. Since 2020, he has led Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as GUR.
A career military intelligence officer, he rose through the ranks of the defense establishment after Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. He also took part in special operations and intelligence missions related to Moscow-backed separatist forces fighting in eastern Ukraine before a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was reportedly injured during one such operation.
Since the full-scale invasion, Budanov has become a key figure in Kiev’s intelligence operations, frequently appearing in interviews and briefings that combine strategic signals with psychological pressure on Moscow. He has frequently warned of Russia’s long-term intentions toward Ukraine and the region, while describing the war as an existential fight for the country’s statehood.
Under Budanov, the General Intelligence Service expanded the scope of its operations, coordinating intelligence, sabotage and special operations aimed at degrading Russian military capabilities far beyond the front lines. Ukrainian officials credit military intelligence for operations targeting Russian command structures, logistics centers, energy infrastructure and naval assets, including strikes deep into Russian territory and occupied areas.
His appointment to lead the presidential office marks an unusual shift, placing the intelligence chief at the center of Ukraine’s political and diplomatic coordination.
Ihor Retrovich, an independent political expert in Kiev, pointed out that Budanov’s participation in negotiations with the United States “will be more naturally integrated into the overall context of the negotiations.”
“Unlike Yermak, he has extensive experience in this field and has held relevant positions,” Retrovich said, adding that the prosecutor general’s office also had some contact with Russia on issues such as prisoner exchanges.
Russia reports higher death toll from strikes
The death toll from a Ukrainian drone attack on a cafe and hotel in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region rose to 28, Russian authorities said on Friday. Kyiv strongly denies attacking civilian targets.
Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson of the Investigative Committee, Russia’s main criminal investigation agency, said that at least 100 civilians in the village of Holi were celebrating New Year’s Eve. The victims included two minors and 31 others were hospitalized.
Ukrainian General Staff spokesman Dmytro Likhov denied attacking civilians. He told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on Thursday that Ukrainian forces “abide by the norms of international humanitarian law” and “carry out strikes exclusively against Russian military targets, installations of the Russian fuel and energy sector and other legitimate targets.”
He pointed out that Russia has repeatedly used disinformation and false statements to disrupt ongoing peace negotiations.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims of the attack.
Washington praises progress in talks
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner had a “productive call” with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine “to discuss next steps in advancing the European peace process.”
U.S. efforts hit new obstacles earlier this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residence was attacked by a long-range drone early on Monday and Moscow said it would strengthen its negotiating position.
Kiev has denied attacking Putin’s official residence, calling Russia’s claims a ploy to derail negotiations.
In his New Year’s address, Zelensky said the peace deal was “90 per cent ready” but warned that the remaining 10 per cent – believed to include key sticking points such as territory – would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe and the way people live their lives”.
overnight attack
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential area in Kharkiv on Friday with two missiles, Zelensky wrote on his Telegram page, adding that Moscow’s forces “continued to kill despite all the efforts of the world and especially the United States in the diplomatic process.”
At least 19 people were injured in the eastern city, including a 6-month-old baby, regional administrator Oleh Syniehubov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied any missile or other airborne weapons attack on Kharkiv on Friday and suggested without providing evidence that the damage may have been caused by an explosion of ammunition from a weapons depot.
Earlier on Friday, Russia carried out what local authorities called its “largest” drone strike in Zaporozhye. The head of the regional administration, Ivan Fedorov, said at least nine drones struck the city, damaging dozens of residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure but causing no casualties.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 116 long-range drones into Ukraine, of which 86 were intercepted and 27 hit their targets.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones in multiple regions of Russia at night.
Vyacheslav Gradkov, the governor of Belgorod, Russia, said that the Russian city of Belgorod was attacked by a Ukrainian missile. He said two women were taken to hospital after the strike, which shattered windows and damaged a business and some cars in the region on the border with Ukraine.
