Kyrylo Budanov
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; former chief of military intelligence
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Profile
Kyrylo Budanov, born in 1986, holds the rank of lieutenant general in the Ukrainian military. He led the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense — Ukraine’s military intelligence arm — from August 2020 until assuming his current position at the head of the Presidential Office in January 2026. Earlier in his career he served as a deputy director within the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Why they matter
As the architect of Ukraine’s military intelligence operations during the full-scale war with Russia, Budanov oversaw a period of intensive drone and strike campaign development, including long-range uncrewed systems that repeatedly targeted Russian territory and logistics. His directorate’s work has made Ukraine one of the most active real-world laboratories for autonomous and AI-assisted warfare.
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