President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s powerful chief of staff Andriy Yermak, a close ally who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at fraught US-backed peace talks, quit yesterday, hours after anti-corruption agents searched his home.
A major probe into high-level graft, at a time when Ukraine is fighting against Russia for its very survival, has sparked public outrage and thrust its leadership into crisis as Washington steps up pressure on Kyiv to reach a settlement.
Yermak was leading Ukraine’s effort to push back against terms proposed by the US that would satisfy many of Moscow’s territorial and security demands. Zelenskiy said he would consider a replacement today.
“Russia is eager for Ukraine to make mistakes. We won’t make any,” Zelenskiy said yesterday in a video address, calling for greater unity.
“Our work goes on. Our struggle goes on.”
Yermak has been a close friend of Zelenskiy’s since the president’s days as a TV comedian, and helped guide his successful outsider’s campaign for election in 2019.
Since then, the 54-year-old has positioned himself as a chief decision maker, attracting criticism both at home and abroad as an unelected adviser with outsized power.
Yermak had confirmed his apartment was being searched and said he was co-operating. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office did not specify which investigation the searches were linked to.
The two agencies this month unveiled a sweeping probe into an alleged $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic energy company allegedly involving former senior officials and an ex-business partner of Zelenskiy’s.
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