President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s powerful chief of staff Andriy Yermak, a close ally who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at fraught U.S.-backed peace talks, quit on Friday, 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 U.S. that would satisfy many of Moscow’s territorial and security demands. Zelenskiy said he would consider a replacement on Saturday.
“Russia is eager for Ukraine to make mistakes. We won’t make any,” Zelenskiy said on Friday in a video address, calling for greater unity.
“Our work goes on. Our struggle goes on.”
KYIV’S MAIN POWER BROKER
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 cooperating. 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.
Yermak was not named as a suspect, but activists, opposition lawmakers and even some in Zelenskiy’s own Servant of the People party had called for his dismissal, saying his presence compromised Ukraine’s bargaining power.
Mykyta Poturayev, a lawmaker for the party who had called for an overhaul of both the presidential office and the government, said Yermak’s resignation came at a perilous moment but had been necessary.
