Vasyl Malyuk

Biography Vasyl Malyuk was born on 28 February 1983, in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr Oblast (northern Ukraine). In 2001, he began military service in the state security agencies. In 2005, graduated from the National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine with a degree in law. He later received a PhD in law. "Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a special service officer. From the 9th grade, I prepared myself for this both physically and mentally. I was actively involved in sports and law", — Malyuk said in an interview.

Career During service in the regional offices of the Security Service of Ukraine, Malyuk held positions from an operative to a Deputy Head of Directorate - Head of Unit for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime.

From 2014, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donbas, and received a Presidential award. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on 16 February 2022.

Russo-Ukrainian War From 16 February to 27 February 2022, Vasyl Malyuk was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he took part in the battle of Hostomel to prevent a Russian landing via Hostomel Airport into Kyiv. A few days later, Malyuk returned to Kyiv and helped organise the city's defence, together with personnel from the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), National Anti-Corruption Bureau, National Guard, police and special purpose units. He later took part in multiple combat operations on the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson directions.

On 3 March 2022, by a decree of the President of Ukraine, he was appointed as the First Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine. On 25 March 2022, Malyuk was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was credited with planning and conducting the arrest of Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian member of parliament and oligarch suspected of treason. Ivan Bakanov was dismissed from the post as head of SBU by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon after Kulinich's arrest, and Malyuk was appointed as the acting head of SBU on 18 July 2022. It has been reported that the SBU was in a bad state at the time of Malyuk's appointment. The Kherson Oblast SBU head had withdrawn agents before Russia's occupation, against orders. There was nepotism. The SBU was considered to be penetrated by Russian agents; Malyuk prioritised removing them. Malyuk's effectiveness in this was a factor in the success of the 2025 Operation Spiderweb attack on Russian airbases, highly dependent on secrecy, which did not leak.

On 1 December 2022, Malyuk was promoted to the rank of major general.

On 7 February 2023, at the proposal of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint Vasyl Malyuk as the head of the SBU. At the parliament’s meeting on his appointment, Malyuk stated that "death is the only prospect we can offer the occupiers!" According to Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Danylenko, the appointment of Malyuk was "perhaps for the first time" that "the SBU was headed not by a political appointee, but by a professional who showed concrete results in a short period of time." On 26 July 2023, he acknowledged that Ukraine was responsible for the 8 October 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion. Malyuk also led the SBU to carry out multiple maritime drone attacks against Russian naval ships on the Black Sea. The "Sea Baby," a type of maritime drone used by the SBU during such attacks, is named after Malyuk, with the name translating to Ukrainian as "".

As the head of SBU, Malyuk also led a campaign against Russian agents in Ukraine, including those within the SBU itself, personally overseeing intelligence collection and detention. As of April 2023, he claimed to have exposed "over 300 traitors" since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, in which 9 were in the SBU. On 12 February 2025, Malyuk personally arrested Dmytro Kozyura, the chief of staff of the SBU's Anti-Terrorism Centre, who was suspected of being a Russian agent. Kozyura was alleged to have been recruited by the Russian Federal Security Services in 2018.

Under Malyuk, the SBU also launched counterintelligence inspections and searches in churches and monasteries belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). He denied that he was targeting UOC-MP clergy members, stating that he was only against Russian agents within UOC-MP.

Malyuk was succeeded by Yevhenii Khmara on 5 January 2026 amid a falling out with President Zelensky over Malyuk's initial refusal to support the raid of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Military ranks

Awards and decorations

SBU awards - badges:

40px The SBU departmental award - Firearm (for valour and selflessness in the performance of duty).