Andriy Yermak, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discuss to the press as their consultations proceed on the U.S. Mission to Worldwide Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
Martial Trezzini/AP/Keystone
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Martial Trezzini/AP/Keystone
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced Friday the resignation of his highly effective chief of workers, Andrii Yermak, whose residence was searched earlier within the day by anti-corruption investigators.
Yermak has been Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the US. He has additionally been a trusted confidante of Zelenskyy’s for years.
The unprecedented searches on the coronary heart of Ukraine’s authorities come at a time when Kyiv is beneath intense U.S. strain to signal a peace deal almost 4 years after Russia invaded.
Two nationwide companies preventing entrenched corruption in Ukraine stated their searches focused Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesperson for Yermak, stated the anti-graft companies had not served Yermak a discover of suspicion, that means he was not a suspect in an investigation. Tkachuk added that Yermak had not been instructed what the searches associated to.
Yermak, a strong determine in Ukraine and a key participant in talks with the US, confirmed they searched his condo contained in the presidential compound in downtown Kyiv, the place checkpoints restrict public entry. Media reviews stated Yermak’s workplace was additionally searched, however investigators declined to touch upon that.
It was not clear the place Zelenskyy or Yermak had been on the time of the morning raid.
“The investigators are dealing with no obstacles,” Yermak wrote on the messaging app Telegram. He added that he was cooperating absolutely with them and his legal professionals had been current.
Vitality sector
The Nationwide Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Workplace are Ukrainian anti-corruption watchdogs. They’re presently main a serious investigation right into a $100 million power sector corruption scandal involving high Ukrainian officers which has dominated home headlines in current weeks.
It was not clear if the searches had been related to the case and a spokesperson for the NABU, Anton Tatarnikov, declined to remark, citing authorized restrictions on revealing particulars on an ongoing probe.
A spokesperson for the European fee, Guillaume Mercier, instructed Ukrainian native information, Radio Svoboda, on Friday that they had been following developments intently and that the searches confirmed that Ukraine’s anti-corruption companies had been working. He added that preventing corruption was central to the nation’s European Union accession.
Investigators suspect that Tymur Mindich, a one-time enterprise associate of Zelenskyy, was the plot’s mastermind. Mindich has fled the nation, with any legal proceedings towards him more likely to be carried out in absentia. Two high authorities ministers have resigned within the scandal.
Two of Yermak’s former deputies — Oleh Tatarov and Rostyslav Shurma — left the federal government in 2024 after watchdogs investigated them for monetary wrongdoing. A 3rd deputy, Andrii Smyrnov, was investigated for bribes and different wrongdoing however nonetheless works for Yermak.
Political turmoil
The scandal has heaped extra issues on Zelenskyy as he seeks continued help from Western nations for Ukraine’s warfare effort and tries to make sure continued international funding. The European Union, which Ukraine desires to affix, has instructed Zelenskyy he should crack down on graft.
Zelenskyy confronted an unprecedented insurrection from his personal lawmakers earlier this month after investigators revealed particulars of their power sector investigation.
Though Yermak was not accused of any wrongdoing, a number of senior lawmakers in Zelenskyy’s social gathering stated Yermak ought to take duty for the debacle as a way to restore public belief. Some stated that if Zelenskyy did not hearth him, the social gathering might cut up, threatening the president’s parliamentary majority. However Zelenskyy defied them.
Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to unite and “cease the political video games” in gentle of the U.S. strain to succeed in a settlement with Russia.
Yermak met Zelenskyy over 15 years in the past when he was a lawyer venturing into the TV manufacturing enterprise and Zelenskyy was a well-known Ukrainian comic and actor.
He oversaw international affairs as a part of Zelenskyy’s first presidential workforce and was promoted to chief of workers in February 2020.
Yermak has accompanied Zelenskyy on each journey overseas since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and the president’s belief in him has made Yermak’s energy seem nearly untouchable.
Domestically, officers describe Yermak as Zelenskyy’s gatekeeper, and he’s extensively believed to have chosen all high authorities appointees, together with prime ministers and ministers.
People related to Yermak and the president’s workplace have come beneath investigation earlier than.
