Ukraine's President Replaces a Top Security Official With The Head of Ukraine's Foreign Spy Agency

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has replaced one of the country's top security officials with the head of Ukraine's foreign spy agency in a new reshuffle as the war with Russia drags into a third year. Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksii Danilov, who served as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, thanking him for his service in a video address late Tuesday. He gave no reason for the shake-up and said, without providing details, that Danilov will be “reassigned to another area.” Zelenskyy replaced Danilov with Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who served as the head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.

The National Security Council is a policy coordination body that includes top officials and is chaired by Zelenskyy. Danilov had held his position since October 2019, a few months after Zelenskyy became president.

Danilov's dismissal comes as exhausted Ukrainian troops struggling with a shortage of personnel and ammunition are facing a growing Russian pressure along the front line that stretches over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).

The reshuffle follows February's decision by Zelenskyy to fire the country's chief military officer, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, replacing him Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. Tensions between Zaluzhnyi and the president grew after Ukraine's much-touted 2023 counteroffensive failed to reach its goals.

Earlier this month, Zaluzhnyi was named Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom.