Zelensky dismisses head of security service and prosecutor general
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fires the security chief and prosecutor general, citing hundreds of treason cases since the start of the war in the country.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting on June 5, 2022 (AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a pair of presidential decrees that Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and SBU (Ukrainian intelligence) chief Ivan Bakanov have been sacked from their positions, citing hundreds of cases of alleged treason among law enforcement officials.
In a national address, Zelensky said that more than 60 SBU security service and prosecutor's office officials are working against Kiev, and 651 treason and collaboration cases have been opened against law enforcement officials.
“Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state ... pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelensky said. “Each of these questions will receive a proper answer.”
Bakanov was dismissed under Article 47 of the Ukrainian military's Disciplinary Statute, which refers to failure in official duties that "caused loss of life or other grave consequences or created a threat of such consequences." His replacement has yet to be identified.
Bakanov is Zelensky’s childhood friend, and have known each other since high school. Prior to Zelensky assuming Presidency, when he was still a comedian, Bakanov served as his manager. Supposedly, and according to the above-mentioned report, the head of the SBU has expressed anger toward the President’s alleged unprofessionalism.
On the other hand, President Zelensky reportedly blames Bakanov for allowing a series of calamities and mass desertions in his agency since the start of the war in Ukraine. The President is now set to replace him with someone “more suitable to serve as the wartime chief of the SBU.”
Moreover, Bakanov has been under fire from Ukrainian opposition groups ever since he started working for the SBU. These parties contend that Bakanov's experience in the show industry makes him unqualified to lead the country's main intelligence agency.
Meanwhile, Oleksiy Symonenko has taken over as Ukraine's prosecutor general in place of Venediktova, who has been in office since March 2020.
It is worth noting that Zelensky has recently fired a number of staffers, including a number of ambassadors of Ukraine in various countries. In particular, the Ukrainian president fired the ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, the ambassadors to Hungary, the Czech Republic, Norway, and a fifth ambassador in charge of India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Read more: Zelensky will have to negotiate with Russia at some point: Macron
