President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Presidential Office Deputy Head Roman Mashovets, the President’s Office wrote on Dec. 30.
Mashovets had been in the role since April 2020 under the Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak and oversaw the military direction of the President's Office.
He has an extensive history in the Ukrainian military, including 25 deployments to eastern Ukraine, and helped found the Special Operations Forces.
However, Zelensky was unhappy with Mashovets' work, according to unnamed sources cited by Ukrainian media outlet New Voice of Ukraine (NV).
On Nov. 30, Zelensky appointed Pavlo Palisa, former commander of Ukraine's famous 93rd Mechanized Brigade, as deputy head of the President's Office, which the source said helped pave the way for Mashovets’ dismissal.
“The president needs timely and real information from the front, information about the needs of the military, which is why they chose Palisa,” the source told NV.
The source also claims that Mashovets’ relationship with intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov was a “trigger for a long time,” although they did not expand on who exactly was triggered. Mashovets did not respond to NV’s request for comment.
Cabinet reshuffles were commonplace in 2024. Zelensky said on Dec. 28 that his team is "preparing several important personnel decisions" that will be "announced soon."
Two days later on Dec. 30, Zelensky dismissed Ruslan Kravchenko, the governor of Kyiv Oblast, and Filip Pronin, the governor of Poltava Oblast.
On Dec. 31, Kravchenko was appointed head of the State Tax Service.
In September, Zelensky launched the largest wartime government reshuffle, replacing key ministers and appointing a number of new advisors and deputies.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
