Volodymyr Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, submitted his resignation on Nov. 28.
Earlier today, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) searched Yermak’s premises as part of an ongoing investigation of the energy corruption scheme that has been rocking Ukraine for weeks.
“There will be a reset of the President’s Office,” President Zelensky said in an address, announcing Yermak’s sacking. The President said he will hold consultations tomorrow with those who could replace him as head of the President’s office.
“When all attention is focused on diplomacy and defense in war, internal strength is needed. Internal strength is the foundation of our external unity and our relations with the world. And in order to have internal strength, there should be no reason to be distracted by anything other than the defense of Ukraine. I want no one to have any questions about Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky has been under growing pressure to get rid of Yermak in the past several weeks due to the corruption scheme that implicated a number of his associates. Although Yermak hasn’t been charged, it was widely assumed that he was involved, given his enormous level of influence over all parts of Ukraine’s political life.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, which revealed the large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector weeks ago, had said that one of the individuals whom they were still investigating was codenamed Ali Baba. That person held meetings with the law enforcement apparatus to coordinate attacks on the anti-corruption agencies and prosecute their detectives, the agencies said. Ukraine’s leading outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, reported that Ali Baba was Yermak, who’s long been nicknamed AB for his name and patronymic, Andrii Borysovych.
On the morning of Nov. 28, NABU said it was carrying out searches on Yermak’s premises, but hasn’t provided any details. Yermak, who hasn’t yet been charged with any crime, said he was cooperating with the investigation.
It’s impossible to overstate just how gratifying and shocking this news is for Ukrainians. I’m writing this newsletter at a busy cafe in Kyiv, and a young guy sitting behind me just told his date, “Today is a good day. First of all, Yermak is gone…”
Yermak has long been one of the least trusted and most disliked officials in the country. A close personal friend of Zelensky, he became the most powerful head of a presidential administration in Ukraine’s history with zero prior political experience. Over his nearly six years in power, Yermak was a subject of countless media investigations that revealed his outsized influence in domestic politics, business, lucrative industries, and Ukraine’s foreign policy, shaping policy and appointing people loyal to him. Yermak was Zelensky’s closest ally and his number one manager, despite the allegations of corruption and abuse of power, as well as the growing calls to replace him.
Yermak’s firing is long overdue, and it will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the country. But the fight isn’t over. For the system to change, Yermak must not retain any influence over the government. Zelensky cannot keep him around as an advisor or in some other unofficial capacity. Yermak’s replacement has to be a clear-headed, efficient manager with a clean reputation.
None of this is predetermined. The country will watch Zelensky more closely than ever for a long time.
Thank you for this report, so much better and in-depth than what the American press has been putting out.
That is really great news in an otherwise rotten corruption scandal.
Thank you very much for sharing that today!!
❤️