Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence has declined to support the president’s motion to dismiss Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Maliuk, said Holos party lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak on his Telegram channel. According to him, the committee reviewed the presidential submission but did not recommend that parliament approve the dismissal. The vote tally was seven in favor, six against and two abstentions, which he said fell short of a majority.
“This doesn’t really prevent it from going to the floor. It just means ‘the committee does not recommend it for the chamber’s consideration.’ But (especially given the President’s Office following the law), this won’t stop the resolution from being put to a vote, where they’ll still need 226+. Though I don’t think the votes are there right now either,” he wrote.
European Solidarity lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko also confirmed the committee’s decision. He noted that, under parliamentary rules, the issue must still be brought before the full Verkhovna Rada, with the outcome hinging on whether enough votes can be mustered in the chamber.
Honcharenko also flagged other personnel moves at the SBU. Volyn Regional Military Administration head Ivan Rudnytskyi is expected to become a deputy head of the SBU, he said. The Cabinet of Ministers is set to approve Rudnytskyi’s dismissal from his regional post, after which his SBU appointment would be made by presidential decree.
“Rudnytskyi is an SBU colonel who worked in counterintelligence. Before being appointed to lead the regional administration, he headed the SBU office in Volyn,” Honcharenko wrote. He added this would be the third deputy head appointment at the SBU in the past week.
On January 5, reports emerged that SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk had submitted his resignation. President Volodymyr Zelensky later confirmed that in a meeting with Maliuk. Yevhen Khmara, head of the SBU’s “A” Center for Special Operations, would temporarily lead the agency.
