During a meeting with journalists on October 21, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi denied rumors about a possible change of the heads of the Ministry of Defense and the Main Directorate of Intelligence. According to him, there were no intentions to change the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov and the head of the State Administration of Ukraine Kyryll Budanov.
“I wasn’t going to do that. I was not going to change Budanov. This information went, yes. Regarding Umerov, there was no such question either“, Zelensky noted.
Rumors about possible personnel changes appeared after reports that the Office of the President was allegedly considering the resignation of Budanov and Umerov. However, these reports have not been confirmed.
Earlier, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov made a decision to dismiss two deputy chiefs of the Main Directorate of Intelligence – Viktor Zaitsev and Igor Ostapenko.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed Oleksandr Balanutsa, his deputy for European integration, on Umerov’s proposal, and Serhiy Boyev was appointed in his place. According to Umerov, Boev has the necessary experience for Ukraine’s integration into European defense structures.
Another appointment concerns Brigadier General of Justice Serhiy Melnyk, known by the nickname Marsel. He will be responsible for education, health issues, as well as human capital policy and humanitarian provision.
The Minister of Defense also announced that he submitted a motion to the Cabinet of Ministers for the dismissal of other deputies: Stanislav Gaider, who will take over the position of the head of the Minister’s Office, as well as Oleksandr Serhiy, Yuriy Dzhigira, and Lyudmila Daragan.
