Zelenskyy Appoints Oleh Ivashchenko as New Chief of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Lieutenant General Oleh Ivashchenko, as the new chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on January 2.

Zelenskyy said he held a meeting with Ivashchenko the same day.

“Starting today, Oleh Ivashchenko will continue serving our state and carrying out tasks to limit Russia’s military potential in a position within the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.,” Zelenskyy said.

After their meenting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that Ukraine will continue efforts to undermine Russia’s economic and military capacity as a way to create space for diplomacy and bring the war closer to an end.

“We will continue to focus on reducing Russia’s economic potential—the less the aggressor earns, the more opportunities there will be for diplomacy. This particularly concerns Russian oil exports, which will be further restricted and driven down in price,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that Ukraine is applying the same approach to Russia’s defense industry by disrupting international links and blocking sanctions-evasion mechanisms.

“We are also acting in the same way with regard to Russia’s military production—the more we sever the aggressor’s ties with the world and dismantle sanctions-evasion schemes, the greater the potential for efforts to end the war,” the president stated.

Oleh Ivashchenko is a career military officer, lieutenant general, and head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service. In 2017, he served as first deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense under Vasyl Burba. In 2024, he was appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine and became a member of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Headquarters.

Earlier today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Kyrylo Budanov, who currently leads Ukraine’s military intelligence service, as the incoming head of the Presidential Office, marking what could be a significant change in the country’s wartime leadership.

According to the president, Budanov has already been tasked with starting work on revised strategic frameworks for Ukraine’s defense and long-term development, indicating that the leadership transition process is already in motion.

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