Andriy Yermak, right, has for years been Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest aide and has played a key role in peace talks.
(BBC News) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has resigned following an anti-corruption raid on his home.
Yermak, a towering figure with enormous political influence, has been Zelensky’s closest adviser throughout Russia’s full-scale war, but has come under increasing pressure over an escalating scandal – even though he is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Zelensky had recently appointed him to head crucial negotiations, with US President Donald Trump leading a new drive to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
In a stark address to the nation outside his presidential office, Zelensky called for unity, warning: “We risk losing everything: ourselves, Ukraine, our future.”
The corruption scandal has rocked Ukraine for weeks, weakening Zelensky’s own position and jeopardising the country’s negotiating position with the US at a delicate time.
Ukraine, backed by its European allies, has sought to change the terms of a US-led draft peace plan originally seen as heavily slanted toward Russia.
Early on Friday, Ukraine’s two anti-corruption agencies raided Yermak’s apartment in Kyiv’s government quarters, and the chief of staff said on social media that “from my side, there is full co-operation.”
“I’m grateful to Andriy that Ukraine’s position on the negotiating track was always presented as required: it was always a patriotic position,” Ukraine’s president said during his video address in Kyiv.
Zelensky said he would start consultations on Saturday on who would replace Yermak as his top adviser: “When all the attention is focused on diplomacy and the defence in a war, inner strength is required.”
“Russia wants Ukraine to make mistakes – there won’t be any mistakes from our side. Our work continues, our fight continues. We have no right… to retreat, to quarrel [among ourselves].”
Yermak’s departure from Ukraine’s leading circle will come as a major blow for Zelensky, with US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll due to arrive in Kyiv by the end of this week as part of Trump’s draft peace plan.
US officials are heading to Moscow next week and Russia’s Vladimir Putin said on Friday he backed a Hungarian offer to host a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest.
