The Ukrainian Parliament on Thursday dismissed chief of the national security service (SBU) Valentin Nalivaychenko at the request of President Petro Poroshenko.
A total of 248 deputies voted in favour of Poroshenko's request in a vote that was not preceded by any discussion, Efe news agency reported.
Poroshenko asked parliament to relieve Nalivaychenko of his duties after consultations with Prime Minister Arseni Yatsenyuk and parliamentary bloc representatives.
Nalivaychenko, 49, is a diplomat who was the SBU chief since February 2014 with the ouster of former president Viktor Yanukovych, currently a refugee in Russia.
Poroshenko believes, however, that at this stage, the SBU should not be led by a diplomat or a politician, but by a professional, according to Yuriy Lutsenko, the head of Poroshenko's party.
Deputy SBU head Vasiliy Gritsak was among the names being mentioned to replace Nalivaychenko.
