A discreet profile to the controls of this large -scale military operation. Ukraine attacked Russian military aviation last weekend in several airfields after having introduced explosive drones in Russia during a surprise operation called “Spider Canvas”.
On Sunday, June 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with General Vasyl Maliouk during which he wanted to congratulate him for the success of this military operation.
“An absolutely brilliant result, obtained only by Ukraine. One year, six months and nine days between the beginning of the planning and its effective implementation. Our longest operation,” said the Ukrainian leader.
SBU member for a long time
In the photos published shortly after the Ukrainian attack, Vasyl Maliouk is watching a satellite card of the directed Russian air bases, also located in Siberia thousands of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
“According to the laws and customs of war, we have identified absolutely legitimate objectives, namely airfields and military planes that bomb our peaceful cities,” said the head of SBU, the Ukraine security service.
Born in Korostyshiv in the Jytomyr region in the center of Ukraine, he won the beginning of the 2000s in the Security Service of the National Academy of Ukraine of which he graduated in 2025. He joined the anti -corruption management against the crime and organized action service during his internal security career. Subsequently, appointed first deputy of the SBU chief, it was a time excluded before restoring it in March 2022, in the midst of a Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Involved in the arrest of Russian spy
He arrives at the head of this after his predecessor Ivan Bakanov is dismissed in July 2022 for “neglected his functions.” Appointed interim, it was confirmed in this position in February 2023.
Even before his appointment to the head of the institution, Vasyl Maliouk is already known when intervening in the arrest of Viktor Medvedchouk, Ukrainian deputy near Putin, and Oleg Kulinich, deputy director of the Crimean Department of SBU suspected of being a Topo of the FSB, the Russian intelligence service. In April 2023, he even said that more than 300 Ukrainian officials suspected of spying for Russia were unmasked.
Vasyl Maliouk significantly coordinates the attack against the Naval drone of the Crimea bridge, under Russian occupation, in July 2023.
In April 2024, the Russian authorities even asked Kyiv “to stop and immediately extradite” Vasyl Maliouk and other Ukrainian officials, accusing them of “terrorist attacks.” Last May, Vasyl Maliouk received the prestigious distinction of the “Hero of Ukraine”, the highest honorary title that the Ukrainian government can grant.
“Since Sunday’s operation, Ukrainians have joked about it that must be sent to the negotiator and that their silence would be enough to obtain concessions from Moscow,” reports Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Ogarkova. This Tuesday, June 3, the Kremlin said that “it would be a mistake to expect immediate decisions and advances” in terms of a possible conflict resolution.
Source: BFM TV
