Zelenskyy plans to appoint Umerov as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, - media
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considering appointing Rustem Umerov as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
This is reported by ZN.ua, citing diplomatic sources and contacts within the Office of the President, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"This will allow Umerov to continue leading the delegation at peace talks. Moreover, this appointment has been agreed with the former head of the Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak, who still oversees the Foreign Intelligence Service," the article states.
The Foreign Intelligence Service has been without a permanent head since January 2026. At that time, its head, Oleh Ivashchenko, was appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.
According to media reports, Umerov’s candidacy was also considered for the post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the US.
"However, as diplomatic sources told ZN.UA, there is a tradition in the appointment of ambassadors whereby verbal notification is given of the intention to send an agrément for a specific individual. If the relevant country requests that this not be done, the agrément is not sent. The US has already twice requested, under this unwritten rule, that Umerov not be sent to them as ambassador at all. As American diplomatic sources told ZN.UA, this is due to Umerov’s very close ties with Turkey," they added.
What led up to this?
- As a reminder, Zelenskyy had previously stated that Umerov would be in charge of the Freya anti-ballistic programme and drone agreements with other countries.
- On 29 April 2026, the media released new ‘Mindich tapes’, which captured conversations between Timur Mindich and former presidential adviser Serhii Shefir and former defence minister and NSDC secretary Rustem Umerov, specifically regarding the funding of Fire Point.
