After the scandalous ouster last week of Security Service of Ukraine head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, an ally of President Petro Poroshenko has been ushered in to take the post.
First deputy head of the service, Vasily Hrytsak, a veteran of the SBU and reportedly a former head of Poroshenko’s personal security detail, was appointed as acting head of the SBU by a presidential decree on June 18.
Hrytsak’s appointment may prove to be as scandalous as Nalyvaichenko’s dismissal since his son is
accused of having prosecuted EuroMaidan activists – a claim that is
denied by the SBU.
“Seasoned, battle-tested, proven, experienced – I am confident that these traits of yours will allow the SBU to fulfill its priority tasks,” Poroshenko said at a private ceremony for the appointment.
Noting that it will be up to lawmakers to vote on whether Hrytsak gets the position permanently, Poroshenko expressed dissatisfaction with the current work of the SBU, calling for a complete reshuffling once Hrytsak takes the reins.
“Fewer words and PR and more action and results. More real progress in the form of court verdicts. There is no need to do PR about our intentions, but there is a need to report on the results,” Poroshenko was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Considering the president’s demands to “complete the process of de-politicization” of the SBU, the choice of Hrytsak to head the agency makes sense, analysts told the Kyiv Post.
Many have attributed the appointment to Hrytsak’s close ties to the president, though Volodymyr Fesenko of the Penta Centre for Political Studies dismissed those theories as “rumors.”
“These ideas that Hrytsak headed Poroshenko’s security team are really nothing more than speculation. Even if he did, that doesn’t mean they are ‘friends.’ The decision was probably motivated more by the fact that he is an executor, a man who gets things done, and not a politician or official,” Fesenko said, noting that it was still too early to evaluate Hrytsak’s work.
“He did make some high-profile arrests in his day, including of Oleksiy Pukach (for the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze). That may have played a role too,” he said.
“He will have to get approval from lawmakers if he is to stay in the post, and that will be a long process,” he said, adding that “only time will tell” whether or not it is the right decision.
Vitaly Bala head of the Situations Modeling Agency think tank, said it was only logical for Hrytsak to be appointed.
“Of course, the president will choose someone who he trusts, that is no surprise,” he said. “It’s just natural that he would choose someone without any strong political affiliations and experience in the area he needs. And yes, he has proven to be loyal to the president as well,” he said.
Hrytsak has a long track record of counter-terrorism work. A historian by education, he began his career with what was then the KGB as a driver, later working his way up to field work.
In 1999, he moved to Kyiv to work in counter-terrorism for the SBU, and in 2005 he became the head of the agency’s regional administration in the Kyivskaya Oblast. From 2006 to 2008, he headed the Kyiv city administration of the SBU. Once pro-Kremlin Viktor Yanukovych came to power in 2010, Hrytsak was replaced and remained out of commission until 2014, when he was appointed first deputy head of the SBU.
It is unclear what he did for those four years, though some media reports suggest he spent this time serving as the head of Poroshenko’s private security detail.
According to Hrytsak’s income declaration, he owns a 94.9 square meter apartment in Kyiv, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Harley-Davidson Sportster ХL-1200 motorcycle.
His family members own a Land Rover, a Volkswagen LT, a Volkswagen Caddy, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, a 79 square meter apartment in Kyiv and a 413 square meter house in Kyiv Oblast.
Hrytsak and his predecessor, Nalyvaichenko, had worked together closely for many years in the service, though the latter was often accused of having dubious affiliations.
Nalyvaichenko’s dismissal is widely believed to have stemmed from Poroshenko’s suspicions about corruption in the department, and some lawmakers have accused the ousted SBU head of having ties to tycoon Dmytro Firtash, an ally of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Hrytsak has also been accused of suspicious ties. Hrytsak’s son, Oleh, works as a deputy head of the Svyatoshyn prosecutor’s office in Kyiv.
Oleksandr Lemenov, who got acquainted with Oleh Hrytsak when he was in college, told the Kyiv Post that Hrytsak had prosecuted EuroMaidan activists and was subject to lustration under Ukrainian law. However, he has not been fired.
Lemenov, who is currently an expert at the Reanimation Package of Reforms, said he had recognized Hrytsak’s face in a video of a court hearing involving EuroMaidan activists.
Information on Hrytsak allegedly prosecuting EuroMaidan protesters was also confirmed by a source close to prosecutors who was not authorized to speak to the press. Prokurorska Pravda, a publication targeting corruption among prosecutors, has also mentioned this.
Olena Hiklianska, a spokeswoman for the SBU, confirmed for the Kyiv Post
that Oleh Hrytsak is in fact Vasyl Hrytsak’s son, but said he had not
been involved in cases against EuroMaidan activists.
Kyiv Post staff writer Allison Quinn can be reached at [email protected]. Staff writer Oleg Sukhov contributed to this report.
