Zelenksy’s Chief of Staff Resigns Amid Corruption Investigation
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned on Friday after anti-corruption officials raided his home amid an ongoing embezzlement scandal that has rocked the Ukrainian government.
Zelensky announced Yermak’s resignation in his daily television address on Friday, noting his advisor’s role in leading the Ukrainian delegation during recent talks in Geneva with Washington.
“I want no one to have any questions about Ukraine today. Therefore, today we have the following internal decisions. First, there will be a reboot of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The head of the office, Andriy Yermak, has written a letter of resignation,” Zelensky said. “I am grateful to Andriy for always representing Ukraine’s position in the negotiation track exactly as it should be represented.”
Yermak did not immediately issue a statement, though he confirmed that there had been a raid on his home. He wrote on Telegram that he was “fully cooperating” with the authorities.
“The investigators are not encountering any obstacles. They have been given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are on site, interacting with law enforcement officials,” he said.
Yermak’s resignation comes amid a sweeping investigation into an alleged kickback scheme concerning the country’s energy infrastructure. The 15-month investigation, called Operation Midas, is being run by Ukraine’s two main anti-corruption agencies and has already lead to the removal of some of Zelensky’s closest advisors, including two government ministers and a former business partner of Zelensky.
Though Yermak has not been explicitly implicated in the scandal thus far, he was uncharacteristically out of the public eye for days after the investigation was announced.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an opposition member in the Ukrainian Parliament who gave information to investigators conducting Operation Midas, said that Mr. Yermak was part of the investigation and called for his removal from government. Others within the opposition and Zelensky’s own party dually signaled they would join a potential no confidence vote.
The latest shakeup in Zelensky’s government will further complicate Ukraine’s ongoing peace negotiations. Ukraine agreed to a peace deal with Russia that was brokered by the United States on Tuesday, but Zelensky warned that “much work still lies ahead.”
