Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine - History

History

The SZRU started its activity on October 14, 2005, the day when the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma signed the Decree “On the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine”. Since then, created on the basis of the Intelligence Department of the Chief Directorate of Intelligence for the SBU, it has been functioning as an independent state body. On December 1, 2005 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the Law “On the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine”. Later it was decided to celebrate on that day the anniversary of creation of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

The SZRU organization was formed to meet principal demands of the Service. It comprises operative, analytical, technical, research and development departments, as well as elements of legal support, human resources, logistics and administration. The SZRU Institute is responsible for initial training and refresher courses training of foreign intelligence officers.

The SZRU is directly subordinated to the President of Ukraine, who appoints the Chairman of the Service. Currently Colonel General Malomuzh Mykola Grygorovych who took his position on April 3, 2005 heads the SZRU.

The SZRU cooperates with other intelligence bodies of Ukraine, state authorities, institutions, establishments, as well as organizations, and law enforcement agencies. The SZRU has established official contacts and maintained partnership relations with more than 100 foreign special services as well as with the NATO Office of Security. Today the primary issue of Ukrainian foreign policy involves enhancing cooperation with such international organizations as NATO and the European Union. In particular, within the frameworks of the EU-Ukraine integration program, the SZRU participates in actions aimed at combating terrorism, countering organized crime, monitoring illegal migration, eliminating drug trafficking, human beings traffic.

According to the Constitution, the SZRU operates under direction of the President of Ukraine and the Defense and Security Council of Ukraine, it is also under supervision of the Verkhovna Rada (the Supreme Council of Ukraine). The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine monitors budget expenditures on SZRU maintenance. The General Prosecutor of Ukraine and authorized officials provide law enforcement of SZRU activities.

The development of the organization as an independent structure and elaboration of legal underpinning for the SZRU are coupled with the Service’s routine work. This process engages settlement of key issues concerning legal and economic support, and personnel management on both state and institutional levels. To meet demands of democratic states the SZRU has made a first step towards reformation of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. The Service has gained the status of an independent state body and it has been detached from law enforcement agency. The SZRU is caring out its practical actions in the context of world tendency towards strengthening intelligence in the security support systems, and enhancing drastically the overall information. The improvement of intelligence direction and control system is aimed at enhancing Service ability to disrupt external threats that may affect the Ukrainian national security, as well as at raising its preparedness to provide an immediate response to hostile actions. An issue of key importance is ensuring impossibility of exploiting foreign intelligence for the purposes not determined within the laws of Ukraine. Another major factor of the Service reorganization is creating effective and democratic control system over the SZRU activities.

The recent dramatic changes in the world as well as in Ukraine have made the SZRU elaborate new approaches of its further activities including Ukrainian reformation process, its various initiatives in the sphere of reorganization of entire state system, elimination of duplication in state bodies functions, responses to possible threats in the sphere of national defense. Besides, the SZRU exerts every effort to adapt its structure and activities to new challenges which Ukraine faces on its road to a gradual integration into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to enhance cooperation with neighboring and other countries in the field of regional and global security.

On December 16, 2010 SZRU and the "Yaroslaviv Val" publishing house presented a book "Leaders of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence". The book uncovers many interesting facts about intelligence agents of the Soviet Ukraine as well as Ukraine of 1918-1920.