KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed the head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff Friday, following the resignation of Andrii Yermak after a corruption scandal over a month ago.
In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraine now needs to focus more closely on security issues, the development of the country鈥檚 defense and security forces, and the diplomatic track of negotiations 鈥� areas that will fall under the remit of the Office of the President headed by Kyrylo Budanov.
Budanov has led Ukraine鈥檚 military intelligence agency, known as the GUR, since 2020. During his tenure, the agency has carried out a series of high-profile operations inside Russia, targeting its military and energy capabilities.
Zelenskyy dismissed Yermak, the previous head of the Office of the President, on Nov. 28 after anti-corruption officials conducted searches at Yermak鈥檚 residence as part of an investigation into alleged graft in the energy sector.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� A Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine鈥檚 Kherson region, Russian officials said Thursday, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks.
Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region鈥檚 Moscow-installed leader Vladimir Saldo said in a statement on Telegram. He said that one of the drones carried an incendiary mixture, sparking a blaze.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the claim of a strike. The attack could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.
The attack was condemned by a number of Russian officials. Valentina Matviyenko, the chair of Russia鈥檚 upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, said that the strike 鈥渟trengthened鈥� Russia鈥檚 resolve to quickly achieve its goals in its almost four-year invasion of Ukraine.
The strike 鈥渙nce again demonstrates the validity of our initial demands,鈥� Matviyenko said.
The statement follows claims from Moscow that Ukraine launched a long-range drone attack against one of Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 official residences in northwestern Russia overnight from Sunday to Monday. Kyiv has denounced the claims as a 鈥渓ie.鈥�
Russia鈥檚 Ministry of Defense said Thursday that its specialists had accessed the navigation system in one of the drones it claimed was used in the attack and used its data to confirm that Putin鈥檚 residence was the drone’s final destination. The claim could not be verified as the ministry did not share evidence on the findings, but officials said that it would transfer the data to U.S. officials 鈥渢hrough established channels.鈥�
On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry also released a video on Wednesday of a downed drone it said was involved in the attack.
The nighttime clip showed a man in camouflage, a helmet and a Kevlar vest standing near a damaged drone lying in snow. The man, his face covered, talks about the drone. Neither the man nor the Defense Ministry provided any location or date and neither the video nor its claims could be independently verified.
Kyiv has called the allegations of an attack on Putin鈥檚 residence a ruse to derail ongoing peace negotiations, which have ramped up in recent weeks on both sides of the Atlantic.
In his New Year鈥檚 address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a peace deal was “90% ready” but warned that the remaining 10%, believed to include key sticking points such as territory, would 鈥渄etermine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 special envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump鈥檚 son-in-law and had a 鈥減roductive call鈥� with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine 鈥渢o discuss in the European peace process.鈥�
鈥淲e focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of (Trump鈥檚) peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart,鈥� Witkoff said in a post on X.
Lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov also reaffirmed that European and Ukrainian officials plan to meet Saturday, while Zelenskyy is next week with European leaders.
In the diplomatic sphere, Kyiv has also continued to push the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to take action against Russia for alleged attacks on electricity infrastructure deemed 鈥渃ritical for nuclear safety and security鈥� at Ukraine’s nuclear power stations.
The IAEA on Tuesday published a Note Verbale sent by Kyiv to the agency, saying that a Russian drone and missile attack on Dec. 23 had caused certain Ukrainian nuclear power plants to lose a 鈥渟ignificant part of their off-site power connections.鈥�
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia attacked the Odesa region overnight, targeting civilian infrastructure in several waves of drone attacks, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
In a post on Telegram, Kiper said a two-story residential building was damaged and that a drone hit an apartment on the 17th floor of a high-rise building without detonating. There were no casualties reported.
In its daily report, Ukraine鈥檚 air force said air defense forces had downed or suppressed 176 of 205 drones targeting the country overnight. It said hits by 24 strike drones were recorded at 15 locations and the attack was still ongoing. ___
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