A month after the dismissal of the previous head of the presidential service Andriy Ermak, it became known who will succeed him to the post - Lieutenant General Kirill Budanov, the previous head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. As Volodymyr Zelensky stated: “Now Ukraine needs to focus on security issues, the development of the defense forces, as well as the diplomatic track in negotiations, and the presidential service will primarily take care of the implementation of these tasks. Budanov has sufficient experience in these areas and sufficient strength to achieve results“.
For his part, the general stated that for him it is an honor and a responsibility and called “in this historic time for Ukraine, we should focus on important issues for the strategic security of our state“.
Budanov's appointment is not a random step
Political scientist Igor Reiterovich believes that Budanov's appointment is evidence that Zelensky does not plan cardinal changes in the vertical of power built by Andriy Ermak. "Budanov is unlikely to actively change anything and is unlikely to fire everyone, although he will probably want to remove some people from the president's office, but it is interesting to see whether Zelensky will have carte blanche for this," the expert noted in a conversation with DW.
Reiterovich believes that Budanov's choice is non-trivial, but does not represent a random step. The political scientist does not rule out the possibility that Zelensky wants to neutralize his potential rival in future presidential elections in this way. “To paraphrase the saying “The enemy should be kept close“, one could say that a potential presidential candidate should be treated in this way, because this candidate would have much fewer chances than if he could act freely.“
In connection with the negotiations on the US peace plan, which Budanov will have to bring to a successful conclusion, Reuterovich notes that Zelensky is counting on the unconventional approaches of the now former intelligence chief, who participated in the dialogue with the Americans. Zelensky is betting on Budanov, who will be able to convincingly convince the American side that “Ukraine still has trump cards“, Reuterovich believes.
Will Budanov bring the news of a compromise peace to Ukraine?
Political scientist Volodymyr Horbach believes that Kirill Budanov's rhetoric in recent months testifies to his readiness for compromise and that it was this circumstance that became decisive for Zelensky in choosing a new head of the presidential office. According to Horbach, Zelensky, as a person who came from show business circles, chose the scenario for the development of events and chose his partner in accordance with this scenario. This scenario is consistent with the behavior of US President Donald Trump and his strategy to end the war through concessions in favor of the Russian Federation, the expert emphasizes.
“Kirill Budanov, with his image as a war hero, will be able to more easily convince Ukrainian public opinion of the need for such concessions“, commented Horbach. He believes that Kirill Budanov also has political ambitions and will be ready to run for president of Ukraine. Horbach does not rule out a scenario in which Zelensky will refuse to participate in the presidential elections and will consider Budanov as his successor.
"However, the fact is that not a single person who was the head of the president's office has subsequently managed to build a successful political career in Ukraine. Will Budanov become an exception to this rule? We will see," political scientist Vladimir Fesenko wrote on Facebook.