Ukraine's removal of suspected security risks from their government

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky surprised the world in July when he announced he was removing hundreds of officials on suspicion of collaboration with Russia.

Euronews reported on the firings (Ukraine war: President Zelenskyy fires spy chief and top prosecutor 07/23/2022):

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired his country's spy chief [Ivan Bakanov] and top prosecutor [Iryna Venediktova], citing hundreds of criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people in their departments, and other law enforcement agencies.

“In particular, more than 60 employees of the prosecutor’s office and the SBU (state security service) have remained in the occupied territory and work against our state,” Zelenskyy said.

“Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the state’s national security, and the links recorded between Ukrainian security forces and Russian special services raise very serious questions about their respective leaders," he said in his nightly video address to the nation.

Zelenskyy dismissed Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend and former business partner whom he had appointed to head the SBU. Bakanov had come under growing criticism over security breaches since the war began.

He also dismissed Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, and replaced her with her deputy Oleksiy Symonenko. Venediktova has helped lead war crime investigations. [my emphasis]

Brian Mann told NPR (Ukrainian officials fired after probe shows their workers collaborated with Russia 07/18/2022):

You know, this is the biggest reshuffling we've seen in Zelenskyy's government since the war began. Zelenskyy himself described this as an important step to purify - that's his word - purify Ukraine as the war continues. There is continuing tension within Ukraine, especially in the south and east, over government officials and some business leaders who were openly pro-Russian before the invasion. Many of the people in those regions speak Russian, of course. They have strong cultural ties to Russia. So this is an ongoing challenge for Ukraine. Now Zelenskyy says there are hundreds of criminal cases open involving alleged collaborators. And this comes at a moment when the war is escalating again. Russia is pressing hard right now ... with artillery and ground forces in the east, heavy cruise missile strikes hitting cities across Ukraine. [my emphasis]

Ben Hall reports for the Financial Times, "In total, 651 criminal proceedings had been opened for 'treason and collaboration activities', [Zelensky] added." (Volodymyr Zelenskyy fires security chiefs over ‘treasonous’ officials 07/18/2022)

It's no surprise that a government would purge officials seriously suspected of treasonous activity with the enemy during a war. But the head of the intelligence service and the chief prosecutor in charge of dealing with war crimes are Russian collaborators? I can imagine that the hair of intelligence officials in all NATO countries stood up straight when they first heard this news. NATO is providing extensive military and intelligence support to Ukraine in the war.

This is a reminder that NATO regarded Ukraine as far away from meeting the requirements to join the alliance. Obviously, a certain standard of intelligence security is one of those factors.

And it's striking that the removed head of the intelligence service was a lifelong friend of Zelensky. That doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't qualified. And of course Zelensky would want a trusted person at the head of the security service. And a professional actor like Zelensky didn't necessarily spend a lot of time with people who were intelligence experts earlier in his career.

Eugen Theise reporting for Deutsche Welle adds these relevant observations in Meinung: Selenskyj selbst ist das Problem, nicht seine Freunde [Zelenskyy himself is the problem, not his friends] 07/19/2022; my translation):

Had the war perhaps forced the president to rethink, after he initially surrounded himself in politics with friends and former business partners? Hardly. Because his crackdown only looks determined at first glance. Initially, there was only talk of a suspension and not of a dismissal. According to the presidential office, they wanted to investigate cases of high treason in both authorities. But then it suddenly went blow by blow: Already on Tuesday, the parliament dismissed Bakanov and Venediktova at the request of Zelenskyi. There was no further talk of an investigation that had been mentioned two days before.

The president's back-and-forth in this strange personal poker leaves the impression that the ex-comedian, who outgrew himself after the Russian invasion of his country and became a courageous leader of a proud nation before the eyes of the world, suddenly dwarfed himself. And that is when it came to taking responsibility for the failures of his confidants.