Zelenskyy’s Right-Hand Man Quits as Ukraine’s Corruption Scandal Escalates

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff quit on Nov. 28 after anti-corruption officers searched his home in the morning, amid a corruption scandal threatening to engulf the country.

Andriy Yermak, who was leading Kyiv’s negotiating team in Washington as it tried to hash out peace terms with Russia, confirmed his property was being searched on Nov. 28 and said he was fully cooperating with authorities.

Hours later, the president said the top official, who is his long-time friend, had stepped down amid the escalating political scandal, as Kyiv faces growing pressure from the United States to accept terms for a peace deal with Russia.

In a joint statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office stated that “authorized” searches were taking place in connection with an ongoing investigation, without specifying which one.

Top Officials Investigated

News of an escalating graft scandal broke earlier this month when the two anti-corruption agencies unveiled details of a sweeping investigation into an alleged $100 million bribery scheme at the state-owned nuclear energy company, Energoatom, that implicated an ex-business partner of Zelenskyy’s and a number of senior officials.

Yermak, 54, has been a close friend of Zelenskyy since before the one-time comedian and actor began his political career, helping to guide his successful 2019 presidential campaign.

Although he was not formally named a suspect in the energy scandal, opposition lawmakers and some members of Zelenskyy’s own party quickly called for Yermak to be fired when it was announced that his home was being searched.

News of the latest search broke as the president faces growing pressure to accept a deal that could force Ukraine into painful territorial concessions.

The European Solidarity opposition party criticized Yermak’s role as a negotiator and urged Zelenskyy to enter into “an honest dialogue” with other parties in a statement on Nov. 27.

“The president should not limit himself to comfortable communication with his faction—he is obliged to explain to the entire parliament … what directives and ‘red lines’ were given to the Ukrainian negotiating team,” it stated.

The Washington-backed peace push comes as Moscow says its troops are on the verge of capturing the eastern city of Pokrovsk, which would be their most significant prize in almost two years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a 28-point U.S. peace plan revealed last week could be “a basis for future agreements.” In his Nov. 27 statement, he demanded that Kyiv withdraw its troops from the eastern land it holds as a condition of a cease-fire from Moscow.

President’s ‘Trust’

In an interview with The Atlantic published on Nov. 27, Yermak referred to the president’s trust in him as the lead negotiator.

“The pressure is enormous,” he said.

“He trusted me with these negotiations that will decide the fate of our country. And if people support the president, that should answer all their questions.”

Yermak met Zelenskyy in the early 2010s, when the latter was a rising star playing the president in a popular sitcom and Yermak was an emerging figure in Ukrainian media, having established his own company.

Yermak has been by the president’s side since his presidential campaign and has been frequently photographed alongside him during public appearances since the war with Russia began in 2022.

He has faced widespread public mistrust as an unelected official who appears to wield a lot of power, having managed to survive several government reshuffles.

Lobbying for Funding

Yermack has remained a key negotiator with successive U.S. governments and has been heavily involved in lobbying Ukraine’s allies for weapons, funding, and sanctions against Moscow.

The corruption scandal has caused widespread outrage among Ukrainians, particularly as it centers around energy at a time when power, water, and heating outages are commonplace due to Russia’s targeted infrastructure attacks.

With Yermak forced out, corruption allegations are inching ever closer to the president himself, with the chief suspect already announced as his former business partner, who remains on the run from authorities.

Putin has also sought to undermine Zelenskyy, saying he is not a legitimate leader because he has exceeded his five-year term in office, although Ukrainian martial law prevents wartime elections.

The energy scandal came to light as Ukraine tries to show the European Union that it is fighting corruption, which the bloc has made clear is a requirement to join.

Investigators suspect that Tymur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelenskyy, masterminded the plot. Mindich has fled the country, with any criminal proceedings against him likely to be carried out in his absence.

Two top government ministers have resigned after being implicated in the scandal, and a former deputy prime minister, Oleksiy Chernyshov, has been charged with illegal enrichment in connection with the case.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.