Budanov's appointment as presidential chief of staff will not weaken HUR – lawmaker

MP Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, said this on national television, commenting on whether Budanov's appointment as head of the Office of the President of Ukraine could weaken the HUR.

"I believe this definitely will not be a weakening. First of all, Budanov himself built a system there [at the HUR] that works. This system is already resilient, as demonstrated by the intelligence service's performance," Kostenko said.

He noted that Budanov served as head of military intelligence longer than any of his predecessors.

"General Oleh Ivanovych Ivashchenko has now been appointed there [to the HUR]. He is also a respected figure. He is a professional intelligence officer, specifically a military intelligence professional. From the very beginning, he served in the HUR and was Kyrylo Oleksiiovych's deputy for a very long time. Only in the past year was he transferred to the position of head of the Foreign Intelligence Service," the lawmaker added.

Earlier reports said that Budanov had been appointed head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. He had led the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense since August 2020.

Previously, the Office of the President was headed by Andriy Yermak, whom President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed on November 28, 2025.