Rada deputy accuses Yermak of ties to Russia and recalls his parents’ trips to St. Petersburg

Verkhovna Rada MP Oleksiy Honcharenko has alleged possible ties between former head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak and Russia, publishing the accusation on his Telegram channel.

According to Honcharenko, Yermak’s father flew to Russia immediately after his son was appointed as Zelensky’s aide — specifically, on a flight to St. Petersburg on November 2, 2019. Yermak’s mother, the deputy said, visited Russia three times: once in 2018 and twice in 2019. Honcharenko also noted that he had pointed to Yermak’s ties with Russia as far back as 2020.

The statement came against the backdrop of criminal proceedings against Yermak. On May 12, Ukrainian anti-corruption officials charged him with laundering approximately €9 million through the construction of an elite cottage settlement in the Kyiv region. NABU published recordings in which the scheme was discussed, as well as correspondence in which Yermak discussed a house design project with a designer.

On May 14, Yermak was remanded in custody for 60 days with the possibility of release on bail of approximately €2.7 million. Four days later, he was released from the detention facility on bail of approximately €2.7 million.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that the European Commission was involved in the Yermak case.