Budanov agreed to head the Presidential Office
2 January 16:01
The head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, has accepted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to head the Presidential Office.
This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Budanov’s Telegram.
“I have accepted the offer of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to head the Office of the President. I continue to serve Ukraine,” Budanov wrote.
He noted that he considers the position of head of the President’s Office as another frontier of responsibility to the country.
“It is an honor and responsibility for me to focus on critical issues of strategic security of our country at a historic time for Ukraine. Thank you for your trust!” Budanov emphasized.
He also thanked all his combat sworn brothers and the DIU team for their joint work.
“We will continue to do our job – to defeat the enemy, to protect Ukraine and to work for a just peace. We continue to fight together for the free and secure future of Ukraine!” – added the new head of the OP.
Zelensky’s proposal
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov to head the Office of the President of Ukraine. He announced this on social media on January 2.
On Tuesday, December 30, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had decided on the candidate for the new head of the Presidential Office.
Until now, the Presidential Office has been without a head. According to media reports, this is due to the search for a new format for the Office, which will largely depend on the candidacy of the future head.
Yermak’s resignation
As a reminder, on November 28, 2025, the NABU and the SAPO conducted searches at the then head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. According to media reports, the investigative actions were related to the Midas operation to expose large-scale corruption in the energy sector, which NABU announced in November 2025.
Immediately after the searches, Yermak wrote a letter of resignation, which Zelenskyy signed and later told reporters that the appointment of a new head of the Presidential Office was not currently a priority for the government.
The New York Post reported the next day that Yermak had decided to go to the front. Later, after his dismissal, he visited Bankova Street again to talk to the President of Ukraine.
