Zelensky dismisses heads of SBU in three oblasts, one already reassigned

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the heads of three Security Service departments in Lviv and Ternopil oblasts, as well as in Kyiv and the Oblast, according to decrees published on the website of the Office of the President on August 15.

Serhiy Zayets was dismissed from the position of head of the SBU in Kyiv and the Oblast. Artem Bondarenko, who was dismissed from the position of head of the SBU in Lviv Oblast, was appointed in his place.

Yuriy Boreychuk was dismissed from his position in the SBU in the Ternopil Oblast.

In July, Zelenskyy dismissed the heads of the SBU in five oblasts: Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, and Poltava. The president reappointed some of them to the positions of heads of SBU departments in other regions.

Background

President Zelenskyy said on July 18 that a personnel audit was taking place in the SBU and the issue of the dismissal of 28 officials of various levels is being considered. On July 19, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed SBU head Ivan Bakanov, and before that Zelenskyy removed him from his duties.

The head of state explained his decision by the large number of criminal cases of treason and collaborationism among law enforcement officers, which "poses serious questions to the leaders."

Vasyl Malyuk, who is said to be close to Oleh Tatarov, the deputy head of the President's Office, became the temporary head of the Security Service.

In addition to Bakanov, the Rada dismissed Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova, who is set to become the Ambassador of Ukraine to Switzerland. The appointment of Bakanov to new positions in the government was not announced.