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Zelensky replaces two Presidential Office deputy heads

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Zelensky replaces two Presidential Office deputy heads
President Volodymyr Zelensky in his office on March 28, 2024. (Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)

President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 29 dismissed Andrii Smyrnov and Oleksii Dniprov from their posts as deputy heads of the Presidential Office.

They were replaced by Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra and by Olena Kovalska, who worked at the Presidential Office's Main Department of Strategic Communications of the Information Policy Directorate and headed the cabinet of the Presidential Office's head, Andriy Yermak.

The appointments were announced on the Presidential Office's website. No reason for the replacements was provided.

Zelensky announced the changes amid a wider personnel reshuffle, which also included the replacement of National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov by the chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

In turn, Danilov was appointed as Ukraine's ambassador to Moldova, replacing Markо Shevchenko.

Dniprov has served as the deputy head of the Presidential Office since July 2021, while Smirnov has held the position since September 2019. The head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, has 10 deputies.

The president said back in February that a reset of Ukraine's leadership was necessary and could involve several personnel shakeups beyond the military.

Zelensky appoints eх-security council secretary Danilov as ambassador to Moldova
President Volodymyr Zelensky approved on March 29 Oleksiy Danilov, the former National Security and Defense Council secretary, as the next Ukrainian ambassador to Moldova.
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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