Longtime Zelensky friend among Ukrainian presidential advisors fired

March 30 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shuffled his advisors Saturday, removing several people from their positions including his longtime friend and business partner.

Zelensky's office confirmed the removal of Serhiy Shefir from his position as First Assistant to the President, while three other presidential advisors and two presidential commissioners were also dismissed.

Officials did not offer an explanation or say what led to the removal of the advisors, including Shefir, who was appointed in May 2019 at the same time Zelensky became the country's president.

The two men have known each other for decades, working together to found the Kvartal 95 studio in 2003 where Shefir worked as a screenwriter, producer and director. Shefir's older brother also had a hand in founding the studio where Zelensky worked as a comedic actor. The president reportedly transferred his business interests in the studio to Shefir immediately before taking office.

Shefir and Zelensky worked together on the 2015 TV comedy Servant of the People. The show ran from 2015 until 2019 and was centered around a high-school history teacher character played by Zelensky who is unexpectedly elected president.

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Shefir handled Zelensky's businesses and headed up communications in the Ukrainian President's Office.

Also dismissed Saturday were Oleksii Danilov, who had been serving as a national security and defense council secretary, and Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Zaluzhnyi was fired in February as head of Ukraine's armed forces. He was appointed Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom earlier this month.

The Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform on Friday was the first to report a pair of the dismissals.