Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine)


The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, also known in English as the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, is the military intelligence service of the Ukrainian government. It is an agency of the Ministry of Defence, not the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Unlike the intelligence agencies of many countries, the HUR is not restricted to intelligence-gathering but also carries out military operations.

History

The agency was established from the existing intelligence assets of the Kyiv, Odesa and Carpathian military districts of the Soviet Armed Forces and its Main Intelligence Directorate, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine.
The Intelligence Directorate of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was established in February 1992. Based on a presidential decree issued on September 7, 1992, the Strategic Military Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence was created. The existence of two separate agencies with similar responsibilities, and reporting to different authorities, hampered the development of an effective military intelligence system.
On July 6, 1993, the Decree of the President of Ukraine ordered the merging of the two agencies to form the Main Military Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. It was renamed the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, or Defence Intelligence of Ukraine for short, on April 4, 1994.
On March 22, 2001, the Ukrainian parliament ratified the Law of Ukraine "On Intelligence Agencies of Ukraine". The HUR was given the status of special government authority.
On August 18, 2021, HUR special forces moved on Il-76MDs from the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force and flew to Kabul with the mission of evacuating citizens of Ukraine and foreigners during the 2021 Kabul airlift. In total, the aircraft of the brigade made six flights and transported more than 700 citizens of different countries. Special forces went to Kabul three times a day to find and bring citizens who were to be evacuated to the Kabul airport.
On September 20, 2023, CNN reported that Ukrainian special forces were likely behind multiple attacks on Wagner-backed Rapid Support Forces forces in Sudan, using DJI Mavic 3 and first-person view drones. In May 2023, HUR Chief Kyrylo Budanov vowed to "destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world, wherever they are." In March 2024, reports confirmed that HUR operators from the "Timur" unit were actively fighting Wagner and RSF in Sudan.
On January 30, 2024, the DIU received a Snatch Land Rover SUV for its personnel from volunteers of the British-Ukrainian society "Driving Ukraine".
On 2 May 2025, a Ukrainian HUR MAGURA V5 naval drone shot down a Russian Su-30 using a R-73 missile, 50 km west of Novorossiysk. The crew of two ended up in the Black Sea, where a civilian ship later recovered them. HUR claimed it was the first time a maritime drone shot down an aircraft.

Emblem

In 2016, the HUR emblem was changed to an illustration of an owl plunging a sword into Russia. The owl has been said to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the emblem of the Spetsnaz special forces of the Russian GRU, which depicts a bat - a natural prey of the owl. In addition, the motto "The wise will rule over the stars" ostensibly alludes to the GRU's motto "Only the stars are above us". The new emblem was met with outrage from Russian journalists and politicians, including Dmitry Rogozin, and with some calling it a provocation.

Spheres of activity

The Main Directorate of Intelligence conducts its activity in the military, political, technical, economic, signals, informational and environmental spheres.
The major missions of the directorate are:
  • Extracting, analyzing, processing and disseminating information in accordance with the law "On Intelligence"
  • Conducting measures aimed at promoting the realization of the national interests of Ukraine
  • Identifying external threats to the national security of Ukraine, and conducting measures against such threats
  • Participating in the fight against terrorism and other criminal activities that pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine
  • Cooperating with foreign intelligence bodies
  • Carrying out other activities defined by law to ensure the national security of Ukraine

    Organization

The HUR has an executive office and several agency-wide functions, and five major directorates and departments consisting of the following:
Directorates:
  • Strategic Intelligence Directorate
  • Armed Forces General Staff Intelligence Support Directorate
  • Information Support Directorate
  • Personnel Policy Directorate
  • Logistic Directorate
Departments:
  • Internal Security Department
  • Planning Department
  • Automation and Communication Department
  • Economic and Finance Department
  • Information and state secret protection Department

    Combat formations

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the only field reconnaissance unit of the HUR was a special unit subordinated to the Directorate's 4th Special Intelligence Service :
As of 2024, the units subordinate to the HUR include:
Reconnaissance units subordinated to Armed Forces of Ukraine :
Spetsnaz units under AFU operational control:
The Main Directorate of Intelligence is legally allowed to operate based upon the following documents:
  • The Constitution of Ukraine
  • Law of Ukraine "On the National Security of Ukraine", 1991
  • Law of Ukraine "On the Defense of Ukraine", 2018
  • Law of Ukraine "On Intelligence", 2020
  • Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service", 1992
  • Law of Ukraine "On Central Bodies of Executive Power", 2011
  • Law of Ukraine "On Civil Service", 2015
  • Law of Ukraine "On International Treaties of Ukraine", 2004
  • Law of Ukraine "On the Fight Against Terrorism", 2003
  • Law of Ukraine "On Counter-Intelligence Activities", 2002
  • Law of Ukraine "On Operational and Investigative Activities", 1992
  • Law of Ukraine "On State Secrets", 1994
  • Law of Ukraine "On the Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families", 1991
  • Presidential Decree "On the National Security Strategy of Ukraine", 2020
  • Presidential Decree "On the Military Security Strategy of Ukraine", 2021
  • Presidential Decree "On Additional Measures to Further Democratize Society and Strengthen Civil Control Over the Activities of Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies of Ukraine", 2004
  • Presidential Decree "On Ensuring Control over the Activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Other Military Formations", 2010
  • Presidential Decree "On Strengthening Control over the Activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Other Military Formations", 2015
  • Presidential Decree "On the Inter-Agency Commission on the Policy of Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control", 2007
  • Presidential Decree "On Certain Issues of Leadership in the Spheres of National Security and Defense", 2008
  • Presidential Decree "On the Regulation of Military Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Citizens of Ukraine", 2008

    Directors

  • Lieutenant General Oleksandr Skipalskyi
  • Colonel General Ihor Smeshko
  • Colonel General Viktor Paliy
  • Colonel Oleksandr Halaka
  • Lieutenant General Viktor Hvozd
  • Major General Serhiy Hmyza
  • Major General Yuriy Pavlov
  • Lieutenant General Valeriy Kondratyuk
  • Major General Vasyl Burba
  • Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov
  • Lieutenant General Oleh Ivashchenko

    Notable members

  • Maksym Shapoval
  • Andriy Yusov, the head of public relations