President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suspended the Head of Ukraine’s spy agency, SBU and the Prosecutor General, after citing many cases of treason in the two powerful organisations.

He said more than 60 former employees were now working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied areas. Mr. Zelenskyy is of the view that a total of 651 collaboration and treason cases had been opened against law enforcement officials.

But so far, the officials, Ivan Bakanov and Iryna Venediktova have not commented. In a video address, Mr. Zelensky said “Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state… pose very serious questions to the relevant heads [of the two organisations], adding that “Each of these questions will receive a proper answer”.

Clarifying the Misinformation

In a later appearance on Ukrainian TV, Andriy Smirnov, one of Mr. Zelenskyy’s top advisers, clarified that the officials have not been fired, as initially suggested, but merely removed pending an investigation.

“In order to prevent the potential influence of these two officials on criminal proceedings, which are being investigated in relation to SBU employees who are suspected of cooperation with the aggressor country, and the same applies to the prosecutor’s office, the president made appropriate decisions.”
Andriy Smirnov, Top Advisor to Mr. Zrlenskyy

The removal of SBU Chief, Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Mr. Zelenskyy, followed the high-profile arrest of a former SBU Regional Head, Oleh Kulinych, who is suspected of treason in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

“Everyone who together with him was part of a criminal group that worked in the interests of the Russian Federation will also be held accountable,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, pointing out that “It is about the transfer of secret information to the enemy and other facts of co-operation with the Russian special services”.

Other Charges

Senior intelligence officials based in Kherson have also been charged and Mr. Zelenskyy suggested that further action would be taken against other SBU officials. Report suggested that Ukraine, over the past, has a problem with Russian infiltration of its security services and in his speech, Mr. Zelensky sought to lay out the impact of repeated security breaches.

Some reports speculated that for several weeks Mr. Zelenskyy wanted to replace Mr. Bakanov after coming to blame him for failures in stopping the Russian advance in February 2022.

The 47-year-old was picked to lead the intelligence agency in 2019 after managing Mr. Zelenskyy’s insurgent campaign for the Presidency. Opposition figures criticised the appointment, arguing that the former TV producer is unqualified to lead the SBU. Mr. Bakanov’s Deputy, Vasyl Malyuk, was announced as the acting head of the SBU in a decree posted to the Presidential website.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Venediktova will be succeeded by her deputy, Oleksiy Symonenko. She took office in 2020 as Ukraine’s first female law enforcement Chief after Mr. Zelenskyy fired her predecessor, accusing him of not producing results. But he warned at the time that someone else would be hired if she could not clamp down on corruption in the country.

Earlier this month (July 2022) Mrs. Venediktova disclosed to reporters that her office is investigating some 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by Russia since the start of its invasion on Thursday, February 24, 2022.