KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the U.S, after Yermak’s residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators.
The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government was a blow for the Ukrainian leader that risked disrupting his negotiating strategy at a time when Kyiv is under intense U.S. pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Yermak has long been a trusted confidant of Zelenskyy, who has resisted persistent pressure to replace him.
In a nod to the controversy over Yermak’s long stay at his side, Zelenskyy said Russia was waiting for Ukraine to make missteps and upset the delicate and tense peace negotiations.
“We don’t have a right to retreat or argue between ourselves. If we lose unity, we risk losing everything — ourselves, Ukraine, our future,” Zelenskyy said. “We must unite, we must hold on. We have no other choice. We won’t have another Ukraine.”
“To preserve our internal strength, there must be no reasons to be distracted at anything else except for defense of Ukraine,” he added. “I don’t want anybody to be questioning Ukraine, and that’s why we have today’s decisions.”
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy announced that he was “resetting” the presidential office. He said Yermak had submitted his resignation and that he would begin consultations Saturday to appoint a new chief of staff.
Yermak’s name did not appear on a list of officials that Zelenskyy said would make up the Ukrainian delegation for the next round of negotiations with the United States. The delegation will be jointly lead by Andrii Hnatov, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces; Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister; and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, Zelenskyy said. He said negotiations would happen “soon.”
Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine said their search targeted Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesperson for Yermak, said the anti-graft agencies had not served Yermak a notice of suspicion, meaning he was not a suspect in an investigation. Yermak was not told what the searches related to, Tkachuk said.
Yermak confirmed the search of his apartment inside the presidential compound in downtown Kyiv, where checkpoints limit public access. Media reports said Yermak’s office was also searched, but investigators declined to comment on that. It was not clear where Zelenskyy or Yermak were at the time of the morning raid.
“The investigators are facing no obstacles,” Yermak wrote on the messaging app Telegram. He said he was cooperating fully with them and that his lawyers were present.
In an interview Thursday with The Atlantic, Yermak said that as long as Zelensky is president, “no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory.”
Hence then, the article about zelenskyy s chief of staff resigns anti corruption investigators search home was published today ( ) and is available on TribToday ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Zelenskyy’s chief of staff resigns; anti-corruption investigators search home )
Also on site :
- Gold Star Distribution Inc., Issues Recall of Certain FDA-Regulated Products in Three States Including Drugs, Devices, Cosmetics, Human Foods, and Pet Foods
- ’Beverly Hills, 90210’s Jason Priestley Shares Bold Callout After ‘Worst’ Travel Experience
- Central African Republic election: Who’s running and what’s at stake?