Budanov about his time in office: “Institution functioning, no scandals, ratings rising”

Head of the Office of the President, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, humorously assessed his time in office, saying the institution is functioning, there are no scandals, and approval ratings are improving.

He said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“I’ll answer with a bit of humor. I recently reviewed a sociological survey on public trust. The Office of the President was always second from the bottom, with the Verkhovna Rada consistently last. Now we’re fourth from the bottom – so we must have done something right (laughs). The Verkhovna Rada, however, remains in last place,” Budanov said.

He also agreed with the suggestion that the situation may be influenced by his personal approval rating.

“But we should not forget a key feature of our society: some people support you, others oppose you. I take that calmly – it is normal. What matters is that the institution is functioning: no scandals, no disruptions, meetings are taking place, decisions are being made,” he added.

As previously reported, on November 28, Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak, who had earlier submitted his resignation.

As also noted, on January 2, the President dismissed Kyrylo Budanov from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Directorate and appointed him Head of the Presidential Office. Later, Zelensky explained the personnel changes in the Office as a focus on a single negotiation track.

Recently, the President said he was satisfied with Budanov’s work in the areas assigned to him.