KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has chosen Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, as his new chief of staff, a move that comes at an especially critical moment in Russia's nearly 4-year-old invasion.
Budanov replaces Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy’s longtime right-hand man who resigned in November after anti-corruption officials raided his apartment in an investigation into alleged graft in Ukraine's energy sector. The move against the powerful aide was a blow to the president that risked disrupting his negotiating strategy amid a U.S. peace effort.
What to know about Budanov:
Budanov has led the military intelligence agency, known by its acronym GUR, since 2020. At 39, he is one of Ukraine's most recognizable and popular wartime figures, known for being the architect of many successful operations targeting Russian military assets, as well as for his independent and enigmatic personality.
A career military intelligence officer, Budanov brings battlefield knowledge to his new position.
He rose through the defense establishment after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. He also took part in special operations and intelligence missions linked to the fighting with Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and Crimea before the full-scale invasion of February 2022. He reportedly was wounded during one such operation.
Since that invasion, Budanov has become a prominent face of Kyiv’s intelligence effort, appearing regularly in interviews and briefings that mix strategic signaling with psychological pressure on Russia. He has warned frequently of Moscow’s long-term intentions toward Ukraine and the region, portraying the war as an existential struggle for the country’s statehood.
Under Budanov, the GUR expanded its footprint, coordinating intelligence, sabotage and special operations aimed at degrading Russia's military capabilities far beyond the front lines.
Officials have credited the military intelligence service with operations targeting Russian command structures, logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and naval assets, including attacks deep inside Russian territory and occupied areas of Ukraine.
Budanov’s role and public status has made him a target. He reportedly has survived multiple assassination attempts by the Russian security services. In November 2023, his wife, Marianna, was hospitalized in Kyiv with heavy metals poisoning.
His appointment to lead the presidential administration signals a shift at the heart of government to prioritize foreign policy, defense and security amid the intensifying diplomatic efforts to end Russia's invasion. Zelenskyy says a peace deal is “90% ready” but warned that the remaining 10% — believed to include key issues such as territory — would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe."
Budanov served as part of the delegation that worked with the U.S. negotiating team. He also has had contact with the Russian side on issues such as coordinating prisoner exchanges. It’s not yet clear what role, if any, he will take in the peace process in his new position.
In his first comments after the appointment was announced, Budanov thanked Zelenskyy for his trust.
“I continue to serve Ukraine,” he wrote on his Telegram page. "For me, it is both an honor and a responsibility — at a historic time for Ukraine — to focus on the critically important issues of the state’s strategic security.”
FILE - Ukraine's military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov visits the Muslim Center for an Iftar dinner during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, center, attends a commemorative event on the occasion of the Russia Ukraine war one year anniversary in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, File)
FILE - Ukraine's military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov speaks during press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Sixteen-year-old Arthur Brodard went to the Le Constellation bar with friends to celebrate the New Year. Nearly 48 hours after a devastating fire, his mother still held out hope he might be one of the six injured people who remained unidentified after one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.
Those half-dozen people gave a glimmer of hope for families whose loved ones were missing in the aftermath of the fire at the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana that killed 40 people and injured 119 others, 113 of whom have been formally identified.
“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard, from Lausanne, Switzerland, told reporters. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
The severity of the burns has made it difficult to identify both the injured and deceased, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside turned to ash in the flames. An Instagram account has filled up with photos of people who were unaccounted for, and friends and relatives begged for tips about their whereabouts.
Officials in the Valais regional government acknowledged the prolonged heartache.
“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference.
Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government, added: “We are aware of the particularly difficult hours, of the unbearable side of every minute that passes without answers."
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the bar crowded with New Year's Eve revelers, two hours after midnight Thursday.
“We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could, we saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
Many of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.
Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The region's top prosecutor warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.
The injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
Emanuele Galeppini, a promising teenage Italian golfer who competed internationally, was officially listed as one of Italy’s missing nationals. His uncle, Sebastiano Galeppini, told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.
Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalists Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva, and Nicole Winfield and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.
People bring flowers and letters, reading "Rest in Peace", near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People mourn behind flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
The sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations is seen in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday morning, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People bring flowers and candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People mourn behind flowers and letters near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
