““Relationships don’t work out.” Now they are getting rid of people appointed by Yermak: can they release Budanov – interview with Rakhmanin September 21, 16:26 NV Premium Share: People’s deputy Serhii Rakhmanin (Photo: Ukrainian Pravda) Author: Vlasta Lazur People’s deputy of Ukraine from the Voice faction, member Serhii Rakhmanin to the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Security, Defense and Intelligence in an interview with Radio NV – what does the dismissal of Kyryll Budanov’s deputies indicate and whether they can”, — write on: ua.news
People’s Deputy Serhii Rakhmanin (Photo: Ukrainian Pravda)
People’s Deputy of Ukraine from the Voice faction, member of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Serhiy Rakhmanin, in an interview with Radio NV – what does the dismissal of Kyryll Budanov’s deputies indicate and whether they can replace the head of the State Government, as well as personnel decisions, in particular, in the defense sector, the head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, has an influence.
— I will start with the news that appeared in the Ukrainian media yesterday. In particular, Babel and Ukrainian Pravda, citing their own sources, reported that Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov fired two deputy chiefs of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyril Budanov. One media writes that Budanov is allegedly behind the dismissals, another media writes that Budanov did not agree and that the decision was made for him in the President’s Office. Tell me, please, what do you know about this personnel rotation, and how could it actually be?
— I have no confirmed information about these personnel changes. Information that is unofficial, I do not want to spread or comment on, because I am not sure of its accuracy.
— But, nevertheless, the question is not about the deputies, but rather, isn’t this a prerequisite for the release of Budanov himself?
— Look, there is a different procedure for removing from positions and appointing different persons to positions in different power structures. This procedure is indeed different, but in fact, especially under martial law, every such change, every such personnel rotation is de facto, and in the vast majority de jure, agreed with the Supreme Commander, that is, with the President [Володимиром Зеленським]. He has the competence, he has the authority, he has the ability to replace any military personnel in any positions.
It is clear that the president does this with the help of the information he receives directly from his entourage, people who work for him in the apparatus called the Office of the President, as well as in the National Security Council, which in our country is engaged in coordinating the activities of security forces. Apparently, the president had some needs, some motives to replace these people. I don’t know the circumstances.
Could this serve as a basis for a possible replacement of the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence? I don’t know. Rumors that the head of GUR can be changed have been around for a long time. Can it happen? Maybe I will remind you that we once thought that [Валерій] Zaluzhny will be forever in the position of head committee. And everyone said that it was impossible. And it happened. Therefore, if the president deems it necessary to replace Budanov as the head of the GUR, I think it will happen. Does he have a reason for this? This should be asked of the president.
— And you, as a representative of the defense committee, see any reasons for Budanov’s release?
– Let’s do it. What does the defense committee do? It is endowed with a part of the control function. And this control function mainly consists in giving consent or disagreement to the appointment of certain persons, initiating the dismissal of certain persons whose appointment is within the competence of the parliament, and changing the legislative framework that affects the activities of the Armed Forces, as well as control over budget funds .
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We cannot and do not have the right to evaluate the military personnel, as we are often accused. That is, we have no right to evaluate the effectiveness of the commander-in-chief, the commander of the Ground Forces, the head of intelligence or any other person.
Moreover, we also do not have complete information about the activities of this or that structure. The information that is provided to us, of course, is greater in volume, character, and depth than what the vast majority of citizens receive, but we do not receive all the information. Therefore, I cannot say that I or any other member of the committee, or any other member of parliament, has a complete picture that would allow us to assess the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of this or that military leader.
I have my own personal attitude towards each official. It will be different for another member of the committee. But I say once again, it is decided by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This is his competence. In the conditions when there is a war, he has the right to do so. He may not name the reasons, but probably there must be.