Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed a decree dismissing Petro Shatkovsky as the first deputy chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

The decree was posted on the Web site of the head of state on Wednesday.

Shatkovsky, born in 1955, has worked in the Soviet KGB agencies since 1976. From July 1996 to July 2000, he served as SBU deputy chief, and from July 2000 to September 2003 he worked as SBU first deputy chief. He was responsible for intelligence and counterintelligence. From the autumn of 2003 to May 2004, Shatkovsky served as deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. Later, he worked as deputy chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (until February 2012). On February 27, 2012, he was appointed SBU first deputy chief.