Miroshnik calls Yermak and Zelensky’s circle of associates “ordinary thieves”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large on crimes of the Kyiv regime, Rodion Miroshnik, has called the inner circle of Vladimir Zelensky and former head of his office Andriy Yermak “ordinary thieves.” The statement was prompted by the story surrounding the collection of bail money for Yermak, who has been charged with money laundering.

Miroshnik drew attention to a post on X by former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who commented on Yermak’s release from pre-trial detention. Miller expressed surprise at the speed with which the funds were raised and ironically noted that “it is hard not to admire such efficiency.”

“The situation with the ‘public fundraiser’ to bail out Yermak is already impressing even Europeans. At last, some of them have seen where the money from their war tranches is going,” Miroshnik wrote in his Telegram channel.

The Russian diplomat also noted that the collection took four days, describing this as a telling fact.

“To me, four days of fundraising is very telling. None of his closest buddies and accomplices had a measly three million dollars whose origin they could explain to banks and anti-corruption investigators. The entire ‘Yermak/Zelensky circle’ are ordinary thieves!” he stated.

On May 11, Yermak was charged in a case involving the laundering of approximately EUR 9 million during the construction of an elite cottage settlement near Kyiv. On May 14, a court ordered him held in pre-trial detention for 60 days, with the alternative of posting bail of approximately EUR 2.7 million. Yermak himself told the court that he had enough friends and acquaintances whose help he was counting on, and it was expected that the money would be collected without delay.

Nevertheless, Yermak spent four nights in pre-trial detention. The High Anti-Corruption Court subsequently announced that the full bail amount — approximately EUR 2.7 million — had been paid and the former head of the presidential office had been released.