Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski on Monday described the new head of the Intelligence Services, Vasil Maliuk, as «a patriot» and stressed that he is «exactly the right person» to head the agency, less than a week after being ratified in the post by the Ukrainian Parliament.
«Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion (by Russian forces), Maliuk has proved that he is a patriot and a professional,» he said, before stressing that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is in a phase of dynamic changes to become a «powerful and modern» agency.
Zelensky has indicated that «the enemy knows that these professional people will not give them a chance,» according to a statement released by the Ukrainian Presidency. «That is why he is so afraid of you. The key is to ensure all this and not to lose it until the end of the war and our victory, because there will be many changes in our country,» he said.
Thus, he emphasized that the intelligence services are fighting against «collaborationists» and conveyed his «personal» support to Maliuk, who thanked the President for his confidence and stressed that the SBU «is now working systematically, from conducting special operations to documenting Russian war crimes».
«As of today there is operational combat work and operations against sabotage and terrorists. Those who do not have time to participate in them, I am sorry, but they should be told goodbye,» Maliuk maintained, stressing that «there must be full control of the operational situation and promptly detect systemic threats to governance.»
Maliuk was ratified last week in the post, which he had held on an interim basis since July 2022 following the dismissal of his predecessor, Ivan Bakanov. Zelenski appointed him acting head of the SBU on July 18 last year, a day after announcing the dismissal of Bakanov and the country’s prosecutor general, Irina Venediktova, amid accusations against employees of both agencies for alleged treasonous acts.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
