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Kyrylo Budanov | |
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Кирило Буданов | |
.jpg) Budanov in 2024 | |
| Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine | |
| Assumed office 2 January 2026 | |
| President | Volodymyr Zelenskyy |
| Preceded by | Andriy Yermak |
| Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine | |
| In office 5 August 2020 – 2 January 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Vasyl Burba |
| Succeeded by | Oleh Ivashchenko[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1986-01-04)4 January 1986 (age 40) |
| Spouse | Marianna O. Budanova |
| Alma mater | Odesa Military Academy |
| Awards | Hero of Ukraine |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ukraine |
| Branch/service |  Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Rank | .svg) Lieutenant general |
| Commands |  Main Directorate of Intelligence |
| Battles/wars | |
Kyrylo Oleksiiovych Budanov (Ukrainian:Кирило Олексійович Буданов; born 4 January 1986) is a Ukrainian military leader who has served as the Head of theOffice of the President of Ukraine since 2 January 2026. Before that, he served as the chief of theMain Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine from August 2020.[2] Budanov previously served as the deputy director of one of the departments of theForeign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. He holds the rank oflieutenant general.[3]
Budanov was born inKyiv on 4 January 1986. He graduated from theOdesa Institute of the Ground Forces in 2007.[4]
Following his 2007 graduation, Budanov started a military career in the special forces of theMain Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.[4]
In 2014, he took part in thewar in Donbas, where he was wounded several times[4] and reportedly participated in a number of classified special military operations.[5] According to a 2024 report byThe New York Times, Budanov was one of the members of theelite Unit 2245 of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate trained byCIA.The New York Times reports that Budanov gained a reputation for participating in bold operations behind enemy lines. In 2016, while still a lieutenant colonel, he reportedly led a special forces unit in an amphibious raid onRussian-occupied Crimea to plant explosives at an airfield. Budanov's unit was ambushed by a Russian commando unit after landing; the Ukrainian force killed several Russian soldiers before retreating to Ukrainian-controlled territory. According toThe New York Times, Budanov was brought to the United States for treatment at theWalter Reed National Military Medical Center after being wounded in fighting in the Donbas.[6]
On 4 April 2019, Budanov'sChevrolet Evanda car was blown up by a Russian with documents in the name of "Alexei Lomaka", who planted a mine, but it detonated prematurely. The attacker and the sabotage group suspected of blowing up Budanov were detained.[7][8]
In 2020, he became deputy director of one of the departments of theForeign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
On 5 August 2020, President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Budanov as head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.[2]
On 11 March 2022 he became the chairman of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.[9] In September 2022, Budanov was involved in the largest prisoner exchange operation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, when 215 Ukrainian defenders returned home, including more than 100 fighters and commanders of theAzov Regiment.[4]
In February 2023, the head of theServant of the People parliamentary bloc,Davyd Arakhamia, stated thatOleksii Reznikov would be replaced by Budanov as defence minister. However, the replacement did not take place, and Budanov was not appointed.[10][5]Rustem Umerov would eventually replace Reznikov.
A spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence said in 2023 that there had been more than ten assassination attempts on Budanov. In November 2023 his wife, Marianna Budanova, was poisoned with unspecified heavy metals, probably from poisoned food, and several agency employees had mild symptoms of poisoning.[11]
On 8 February 2024, Budanov was recognized as aHero of Ukraine by President Zelenskyy.[12]
On 2 January 2026, Kyrylo Budanov was appointed asHead of the Office of the President of Ukraine,[13] replacingAndriy Yermak, who had resigned on 28 November 2025.[14]
In January 2026, Budanov congratulatedDenis Kapustin for ″returning to life″, with sources saying that Ukraine staged his death in order to lure out Russian assailants. According to theGUR, Ukraine gained the $500,000 bounty of ″killing″ Kapustin.[15]
On 21 April 2023, theLefortovo District court in Moscow, Russia issued an arrest warrant against Budanov in relation to the2022 Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge, charging him with creating a terrorist community, illegal acquisition of weapons by a group of persons, and illegal acquisition of explosive devices by a group of persons.[16][17] Budanov commented on the warrant, stating, "I am pleased. This is a good indicator of our work, and I promise to work even better".[18] In an interview, Budanov stated that what the Russian government considers terrorism, he calls liberation, and linked the events to the invasion of his country in 2014. As clarified byThe New York Times, U.S. intelligence attributes theassassination of Darya Dugina to theUkrainian government. In response to a question about this accusation, Budanov asked not to pursue the topic further and declared:
Everything I will comment on is that we have killed Russians and will kill Russians anywhere in the world until Ukraine's complete victory".[17]
On May 8, 2023, during an official briefing at theU.S. State Department, a question was posed requesting an assessment of this statement. The State Department spokesperson stated that they do not condone attacks on civilians regardless of where they occur: in Russia, Ukraine, or anywhere else.[19]
On December 25, 2023, theBasmanny District Court of Moscow issued an in absentia arrest warrant for Kyrylo Budanov (charged with committing 104 terrorist acts). In an October press release,Russia's Investigative Committee accused Budanov of organizing and carrying out, from April 2022 to September 2023, more than 100 airstrikes using fixed-wingunmanned aerial vehicles against the territories of Moscow andMoscow Oblast,Rostov,Belgorod, andBryansk oblasts, as well as the Russia-annexedCrimea andSevastopol[20].
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Media related toKyrylo Budanov at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related toKyrylo Budanov at Wikiquote| Political offices | ||
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