Zelenskiy sidelines close allies in Kyiv's biggest purge of war

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sidelined his childhood friend as head of Ukraine's security service, and another close ally as top prosecutor, in Kyiv's biggest internal purge of the war, citing their failure to root out Russian spies.

The careers of SBU security service chief Ivan Bakanov and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova had personified Zelenskiy's policy of putting young loyalists in charge of fighting corruption since the former TV comic came to power in 2019.

But nearly five months after Russia's invasion, the president acknowledged that his two allies had failed to root out traitors and collaborators in their organisations.

Zelenskiy said late on Sunday the two had been removed from their posts. The deputy head of Zelenskiy's administration clarified early on Monday that they had been suspended pending further investigation, rather than fired.

More than 60 officials from Bakanov's SBU security agency and the prosecutor's office were working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied territory, and 651 treason and collaboration cases had been opened against law enforcement officials, Zelenskiy said in a video address.