Vasyl Vasyliovych Malyuk (Ukrainian:ВасильВасильовичМалюк;born 28 February 1983) is a Ukrainian military officer,Lieutenant General,former Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) serving from 7 February 2023 to 5 January 2026[1][2] (before that –Acting Head of the SBU from 18 July 2022[3]). He is a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (since 4 August 2022)[4] and a member of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff since 16 August 2022 (as First Deputy Head of the SBU,[5] since 14 February 2023 - as the SBU Head[6]).
Vasyl Malyuk was born on 28 February 1983,in Korostyshiv,Zhytomyr Oblast (northern Ukraine).[7] 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.[8]
From January 2020 to 13 March 2020,Vasyl Malyuk was the First Deputy Head of the SBU Main Directorate for Combatting Corruption and Organized Crime. From 13 March 2020 to 26 July 2021,Malyuk was the First Deputy Head of the SBU - Head of the Main Directorate for Combatting Corruption and Organized Crime.[9][10] He was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on 16 February 2022.[11]
From 28 February to 3 March 2022,Vasyl Malyuk was appointed Deputy Head of the SBU.[15][16]
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.[17] On 25 March 2022,Malyuk was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.[18] He was credited with planning and conducting the arrest of Viktor Medvedchuk,a Ukrainian member of parliament and oligarch suspected of treason.[19] Malyuk also personally supervised the investigation and arrest of Oleh Kulinich,former head of SBU's Main Directorate in Crimea who was suspected of treason,on 16 July 2022.[20][21]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.[20][22] 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 The Kherson Oblast SBU head had withdrawn agents before Russia's occupation,against orders.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.[23]
On 1 December 2022,Malyuk was promoted to the rank of major general.[24]
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!"[25] 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."[19] On 26 July 2023,he acknowledged that Ukraine was responsible for the 8 October 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion.[26][27][28][29] Malyuk also led the SBU to carry out multiple maritime drone attacks against Russian naval ships on the Black Sea.[14][30][31] 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 "Морськиймалюк".[32]
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.[33] 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.[34][35]
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).[19] In a letter to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy on 28 September 2023,Malyuk proposed expanding the list of grounds for court bans on certain religious organisations,in order to prohibit the activities of UOC-MP. According to Malyuk,UOC-MP was in "subordination to the Russian Orthodox Church," which he claimed was a tool of the Russian government.[36] He denied that he was targeting UOC-MP clergy members,stating that he was only against Russian agents within UOC-MP.[37]
The President of Ukraine’s decoration For Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (for conscientious attitude to performance of duties in the area of the Anti-Terrorist Operation);
SBU awards - badges:
For Valour;
For Courage;
Badge of Honor of the Security Service of Ukraine;
The SBU departmental award - Firearm (for valour and selflessness in the performance of duty).
↑"Указ Президента України: №504/2022"[Decree of the President of Ukraine: No.504/2022]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 18 July 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
↑Указ Президента України від 26 липня 2021 року № 315/2021 «Про звільнення В. Малюка з посади першого заступника Голови Служби безпеки України — начальника Головного управління по боротьбі з корупцією та організованою злочинністю Центрального управління Служби безпеки України» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 315/2021 On Dismissal of V.Malyuk from the Position of the First Deputy Head of the SSU – Head of the Main Directorate for Combatting Corruption and Organized Crime]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 26 July 2023
↑Розпорядження Кабінету Міністрів України від 27 лютого 2022 року №189-р«Про звільнення Малюка В. В. з посади заступника Міністра внутрішніх справ України». [Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No 189-p On Dismissal of V.V.Malyuk from the Position of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine]. 27 February 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 28 лютого 2022 року №77/2022«Про призначення В.Малюка заступником Голови Служби безпеки України» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 77/2022 On Appointment of V.V.Malyuk as the Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 28 February 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 3 березня 2022 року №99/2022«Про звільнення В. Малюка з посади заступника Голови Служби безпеки України» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 99/2022 On Dismissal of V.V.Malyuk from the Position of the Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 3 March 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 03 березня 2022 року №100/2022«Про призначення В.Малюка першим заступником Голови Служби безпеки України» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 100/2022 On Appointment of V.V.Malyuk as the First Deputy Head of the SSU]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 3 March 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 25 березня 2022 року №174/2022«Про присвоєння військового звання» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 174/2022 On Awarding a Military Rank]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 25 March 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 18 липня 2022 року №504/2022«Про тимчасове виконання обов'язків Голови Служби безпеки України» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 504/2022 On Temporary Fulfilment of Duties of the SSU Head]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 18 July 2022
↑Указ Президента України від 1 грудня 2022 року №812/2022«Про присвоєння військового звання» [Decree of the President of Ukraine No 812/2022 On Awarding a Military Rank]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 1 December 2022
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