Ukraine Chief Of Staff Resigns Amid Zelenskyy Circle Corruption Scandal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/PHOTO via X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his influential chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who is also the country's main negotiator in negotiations with the US.

The news of this resignation emerged after Yermak's residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

The unprecedented search at the center of Ukraine's government comes as Kyiv is under strong US pressure to sign a peace agreement nearly four years after Russia's massive invasion.

Yermak has been Zelenskyy's confidant for years, and the Ukrainian leader has long resisted pressure to replace him. His departure was a blow to Ukrainian leaders at risk of disrupting his negotiating strategy.

Responding to possible controversy over her long-standing Yermak by her side, Zelenskyy said Russia was waiting for Ukraine to make mistakes and disrupt complicated and tense peace negotiations.

"We have no right to step down or argue between ourselves. If we lose unity, we risk losing everything, ourselves, Ukraine, our future," Zelenskyy said.

"We have to unite, we have to survive. We have no other choice. We will have no other Ukraine," he continued.

Yermak's name did not appear on the list of officials that Zelenskyy said would be Ukraine's delegation for the next round of negotiations with the United States.

Zelenskyy said "to keep our internal powers, there should be no reason to be distracted from anything else except defending Ukraine. I don't want anyone to question Ukraine, and that's why we have a decision today."

In his evening address, Zelenskyy announced he would "restart" the presidential office.

He said Yermak had submitted his resignation and would start consultations on Saturday to appoint a new chief of staff.

Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine said their search targeted Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesman for Yermak, said the anti-corruption agency did not provide a warning letter to Yermak, meaning he was not a suspect in the investigation.

Yermak was not told what was related to the search, said Tkachuk.