Angered by the betrayal in the Ukrainian security apparatus, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the heads of the secret service and the general public prosecutor’s office. More than 60 employees of these authorities remained in the Russian-occupied areas and collaborated with the enemy, Zelenskyy said in his video address on Sunday. The head of the SBU secret service, Ivan Bakanov, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova were relieved of their positions by presidential decree.
Ukraine has been fighting the Russian war of aggression since February. Selenskyj has made almost no personnel changes during this time. He gave figures on the defectors: There are 651 criminal proceedings once morest employees of the public prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement agencies for high treason and collaboration with Russian services. In 198 cases, those affected were informed that they were under suspicion.
“Breach of duty with serious consequences”
This “series of crimes once morest the foundations of national security” raises serious questions for agency leaders, the president said. He confirmed that a senior SBU official formerly in charge of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea had been arrested.
Bakanow (47) is a close companion of Zelenskyj from his days as a television comedian, he has headed the secret service since 2019. No successor has been named for him. The General Prosecutor’s Office is to be temporarily headed by Oleksiy Simonenko. Zelenskyj announced recruitment processes for top positions in the anti-corruption authorities.
As reported by the Ukrinform news agency, the SBU chief was dismissed on the basis of Article 47 of the army statute. This provides for a fee for breaches of duty that have resulted in casualties or other “serious consequences”. (apa / dpa / Archyde.com)
