‘He’s a bulldog’: the man behind the success of Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb.
It was unsurprising to those who know Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), that his statement announcing the success of Operation Spiderweb had a certain physicality to it.
The audacious drone attacks on distant bases hosting Russia’s strategic bombers was “a serious slap in the face to Russia’s power”, said Malyuk, 42, a sometime boxer and weightlifter. “Our strikes will continue as long as Russia terrorises Ukrainians with missiles and Shahed drones.”
Shaven-headed and with the physique and bearing of a stereotypical nightclub bouncer, Malyuk has led the SBU since the former holder of the office Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was fired in 2022 for apparent incompetence. Malyuk had been his deputy.
There have been high-profile successes over the last three years. One stunt – a photograph of Malyuk holding a bruised Dmitry Kozyura, the head of the SBU’s counter-terrorism department, by the scruff of the neck at the time of his arrest on suspicion of being a Russian double agent – attracted the coverage for which it was designed.
When Zakhar Prilepin, a Russian paramilitary leader, survived a suspected SBU sponsored assassination attempt, one of a series targeting Ukrainian foes at the time, Malyuk made headlines by commenting that Prilepin’s “pelvis and legs were severely injured, and, sorry, he lost his genitals”. “Therefore, it is God’s will that he continue to live and enjoy life”, he added drily.
Meanwhile, Sea Baby marine drones, the SBU’s own invention, are credited with striking 11 Russian military ships and pushing the Black Sea fleet “all the way to Novorossiysk”.
Though none of this compares to the global attention drawn by the 1 June attacks that were said to have been masterminded by Malyuk.
“I am confident that the SBU operations led by Vasyl Malyuk will be the subject of books and films,” said one SBU officer on condition of anonymity. “Because compared to what the security service is doing now, Hollywood is nervously smoking on the sidelines.”
The number of Russian aircraft permanently put out of action by the attack on four bases on Sunday is disputed, with Ukraine claiming to have destroyed 41. US intelligence officials suggest that 10 combat aircraft were destroyed and up to 20 damaged.
Whatever the physical cost, the footage of the 117 drones flying out from the top of lorries to strike deep into Russia, and without the aid of western weaponry, has struck a psychological blow.
Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, claimed it had “changed the paradigm and dynamics” of the faltering peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Tuesday. It was followed by a massive underwater blast targeting the key road and rail bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia, damaging its supports.
The attacks were serious enough for Vladimir Putin to inform Donald Trump in a transatlantic call that he would “respond”. Four people in Kyiv were killed in the early hours of Friday morning after that vengeance was delivered in the form of a heavy barrage and drone attack on the capital.
So who is the security chief who has got Putin’s attention?
“He’s a bulldog,” said one senior Ukrainian official who has worked closely with Malyuk. “He isn’t an intellectual, he doesn’t reflect, or hesitate. He is purposeful.”
It was unsurprising to those who know Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), that his statement announcing the success of Operation Spiderweb had a certain physicality to it.
The audacious drone attacks on distant bases hosting Russia’s strategic bombers was “a serious slap in the face to Russia’s power”, said Malyuk, 42, a sometime boxer and weightlifter. “Our strikes will continue as long as Russia terrorises Ukrainians with missiles and Shahed drones.”
Shaven-headed and with the physique and bearing of a stereotypical nightclub bouncer, Malyuk has led the SBU since the former holder of the office Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was fired in 2022 for apparent incompetence. Malyuk had been his deputy.
There have been high-profile successes over the last three years. One stunt – a photograph of Malyuk holding a bruised Dmitry Kozyura, the head of the SBU’s counter-terrorism department, by the scruff of the neck at the time of his arrest on suspicion of being a Russian double agent – attracted the coverage for which it was designed.
When Zakhar Prilepin, a Russian paramilitary leader, survived a suspected SBU sponsored assassination attempt, one of a series targeting Ukrainian foes at the time, Malyuk made headlines by commenting that Prilepin’s “pelvis and legs were severely injured, and, sorry, he lost his genitals”. “Therefore, it is God’s will that he continue to live and enjoy life”, he added drily.
Meanwhile, Sea Baby marine drones, the SBU’s own invention, are credited with striking 11 Russian military ships and pushing the Black Sea fleet “all the way to Novorossiysk”.
Though none of this compares to the global attention drawn by the 1 June attacks that were said to have been masterminded by Malyuk.
“I am confident that the SBU operations led by Vasyl Malyuk will be the subject of books and films,” said one SBU officer on condition of anonymity. “Because compared to what the security service is doing now, Hollywood is nervously smoking on the sidelines.”
The number of Russian aircraft permanently put out of action by the attack on four bases on Sunday is disputed, with Ukraine claiming to have destroyed 41. US intelligence officials suggest that 10 combat aircraft were destroyed and up to 20 damaged.
Whatever the physical cost, the footage of the 117 drones flying out from the top of lorries to strike deep into Russia, and without the aid of western weaponry, has struck a psychological blow.
Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, claimed it had “changed the paradigm and dynamics” of the faltering peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Tuesday. It was followed by a massive underwater blast targeting the key road and rail bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia, damaging its supports.
The attacks were serious enough for Vladimir Putin to inform Donald Trump in a transatlantic call that he would “respond”. Four people in Kyiv were killed in the early hours of Friday morning after that vengeance was delivered in the form of a heavy barrage and drone attack on the capital.
So who is the security chief who has got Putin’s attention?
“He’s a bulldog,” said one senior Ukrainian official who has worked closely with Malyuk. “He isn’t an intellectual, he doesn’t reflect, or hesitate. He is purposeful.”
19 hours ago
