Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is interfering more with the SBU of Ukraine. Having laid off his boss on Sunday, he announced the resignation of nearly thirty employees the next day.

In his daily video message on the Russian invasion, the president spoke of “unsatisfactory” results. He announced that all SBU activities would be reformed. Zelensky had previously expressed his dismay at the fact that 60 employees of the secret service, among others, were left behind in the territories occupied by the Russians. The government in Kyiv sees this as high treason.

The action against the head of the State Security Administration, Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelensky, caused a sensation, as did the Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova. Justice officials will also work with the occupying forces. The two were arrested while their dealings were investigated.

Bakanov has been the head of the Secret Service since 2019, but as an inexperienced commander, he had little authority. Venediktova is leading the investigation into thousands of alleged war crimes committed by the Russians. She was recently in The Hague for a conference on the prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine.