Ukrainian Domestic — 2026-07-18

Zelensky Appoints Poklad as Acting SBU Head Amid Broader Security Leadership Reshuffle

BLUFPoklad's elevation rewards the officer who led the 2025 NABU raid, signaling that Zelensky's security reshuffle prioritizes institutional loyalty over anti-corruption credibility with Western partners.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on July 17 appointing Oleksandr Poklad, SBU first deputy head, as acting head of Ukraine's Security Service, according to the Kyiv Independent and the decree text cited by UNIAN and LB.ua 123. The decree followed the prior day's appointment of Yevhen Khmara, the outgoing SBU chief, as acting defense minister, which left the SBU's top post vacant under succession rules that pointed to Poklad 1. Separately, the Cabinet of Ministers named Maksym Tsutskiridze, first deputy head of the National Police, as acting National Police chief, replacing Ivan Vyhivsky after his appointment as interior minister, government parliamentary representative Taras Melnychuk announced 124. Interfax-Ukraine additionally reported the Poklad appointment via MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak's Telegram post before the official decree was confirmed 4.

Analysis
Poklad's rise keeps SBU leadership inside the agency's own chain rather than opening the post to an outsider, fitting Zelensky's pattern of promoting loyalists during this reshuffle. His record leading the 2025 NABU raid and alleged fabrication of political cases means anti-corruption advocates will read the appointment as a signal about the agency's posture toward oversight, not a mere caretaker fix. Tsutskiridze's parallel elevation at the National Police extends the same succession logic to law enforcement, concentrating several security appointments within days of Khmara's move to Defense and Vyhivsky's to Interior. The reshuffle may instead reflect deliberate consolidation of SBU and police leadership under Zelensky-aligned figures rather than routine, rules-driven succession. Reporting traces to a single editorial cluster around the decree text and one Telegram-sourced leak, capping confidence at moderate despite four-outlet spread. Whether Poklad's acting status becomes permanent will determine how long this internal succession model governs the SBU.

4 sources