{"id":1339940,"date":"2026-01-03T12:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/it-stinks-of-footcloths-in-laptya-who-benefits-from-malyuk-s-resignation\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T07:23:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T05:23:22","slug":"it-stinks-of-footcloths-in-laptya-who-benefits-from-malyuk-s-resignation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/it-stinks-of-footcloths-in-laptya-who-benefits-from-malyuk-s-resignation\/","title":{"rendered":"Smells Like Lapti: Who\u2019s Really Cheering Malyuk\u2019s Exit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Author’s Facebook<\/a> page<\/em><\/p>\n

Rumours surrounding the future of SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk are no longer confined to the sidelines, sources in the Office of the President say.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Releasing this information now \u2014\u201cat a moment of intense and difficult talks with allies about continued support for Ukraine in the face of Putin\u2019s demands \u2014 is hardly accidental. Western partners are openly saying that their current assessment of Ukraine\u2019s prospects in the war hinges on depriving Russia of the resources needed to finance the war and sustain military operations. They point, in particular, to the successful disruption of Russia\u2019s \u201cshadow fleet\u201d by SBU drone strikes and to the reported 30 per cent reduction in Russian oil exports as a result of those attacks.<\/p>\n

This is precisely the argument Ukraine is making: Ukraine can hold out; supporting it still makes sense; there is no reason to bow to Putin\u2019s ultimatum.<\/em> And all of this is inseparable from the current incarnation of the Security Service \u2014 a combat-ready special service effectively built from scratch under Malyuk. Before that, Ukraine did not have a wartime special service capable of acting as a direct and powerful instrument of war. Few believed the SBU could exert such a tangible influence on the course of a brutal conflict \u2014 or directly shape allies\u2019 perceptions of Ukraine\u2019s military capabilities.<\/p>\n

Now, however, there is talk of removing one of the most effective \u2014 and, crucially, the most spectacular (which, for Trump, is often the decisive factor) \u2014 pillars underpinning Zelenskyy\u2019s case to the world that Ukraine does not have to surrender<\/em>. The crippled tanker fleet is a \u201ccard\u201d in Zelenskyy\u2019s hand, to use Trump\u2019s preferred language. The shut-down refineries are another. The Crimean Bridge \u2014 struck three times in highly visible and strategically disruptive attacks on Russian military logistics \u2014 is yet another.<\/p>\n

And yet, there appears to be an effort to knock these \u201ccards\u201d out of Zelenskyy\u2019s hand at precisely the moment when he is engaged in near-daily talks with Western leaders.<\/p>\n\t\t