'The proposal suggested the SBU be stripped of its law enforcement functions, which would be handed over to the newly created National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the National Police. That would leave the SBU to work strictly as an intelligence agency, focusing on counterespionage, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and security analysis.
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"You can't simply do away with old corrupt officials and expect everything to change," Galeotti said. "What you do need to be doing, you need to think, 'What are you doing to teach the young, new generation of counterintelligence officers?' And then you need to push them…[and] force generational change.” ''Smeshko was one of the few exceptions. A professional soldier and military scholar respected in Washington, who is referred to by many as simply "The General," he was appointed by former Moscow-friendly President Leonid Kuchma to reform the SBU and polish its reputation after a previous head of the agency was found to have organized the sale of Kolchuga radar systems to Saddam Hussein's Iraq in violation of international sanctions.
During his tenure, Smeshko fired dozens of high-ranking officials and reshuffled the agency, moving it away from the KGB-style security service it had been.
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In recent years, the EU and the United States have strongly encouraged Ukraine’s leadership to address problems at the SBU. NATO envoys and members of the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM) even drew up a reform proposal in 2016 that was meant to outline the initial steps needed to fix it and bring it into line with NATO standards.
The proposal suggested the SBU be stripped of its law enforcement functions, which would be handed over to the newly created National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the National Police. That would leave the SBU to work strictly as an intelligence agency, focusing on counterespionage, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and security analysis.
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..insist that broader reform of the SBU is needed. Galeotti, the security expert at RUSI, said corrupt heads should roll and the agency should be broken up "into some smaller agencies with specific remits."
The reform effort should not stop there, though, he continued.
"You can't simply do away with old corrupt officials and expect everything to change," Galeotti said. "What you do need to be doing, you need to think, 'What are you doing to teach the young, new generation of counterintelligence officers?' And then you need to push them…[and] force generational change.” '
- Christopher Miller,
'..Ukraine's New President Ventures To Reform Powerful State Spy Agency', August 17, 2019
Context(Ukraine) - '..there are signs of hope..'