Dismissing Yermak after the search would be Zelensky’s most sensible move – The Guardian

The search conducted by NABU detectives at the home of Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak will have major consequences for Ukraine and possibly for peace negotiations.

This conclusion was made by The Guardian journalist Shaun Walker.

In his article, he suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will resist firing Yermak.

“Foreign politicians have often valued the ability to use Yermak as a direct channel to the president, but some have found him a difficult interlocutor, and officials in the Trump administration were known to prefer dealing with Umerov. Up to now, Zelenskyy has always resisted calls to dismiss Yermak or at least curb his powers, but if he is now caught up in a corruption scandal, those calls are likely to grow louder. Politically, firing his chief of staff might be the most sensible move for Zelenskyy, but people who know them both say their relationship is so close that it’s hard to imagine Zelenskyy taking such a step,” Walker believes.

He also quoted a former senior official who said that in theory Zelenskyy could work without Yermak, but in practice he cannot picture it.

It is noted that Yermak is an extremely influential chief of staff, and his relationship with Zelenskyy is described as symbiotic. Those who have dealt with Yermak both in Ukraine and abroad describe him as a workaholic and a ruthless political operator, fighting against alternative centers of influence.

“With such influence, enemies inevitably appear, and among the Ukrainian elite there are few who have a positive attitude toward Yermak, although many admire his work ethic and political skills,” the journalist wrote.

As a reminder, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko from the European Solidarity faction has claimed that NABU is preparing to serve Yermak with a notice of suspicion.