Zelenskyy’s top aide resigns after search by anti-corruption investigators
Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak confirms search, saying he has offered ‘full cooperation’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has resigned, as a major corruption investigation continues to roil Kyiv and cause consternation among its allies.
Zelenskyy’s announcement on Friday came just hours after anticorruption authorities searched Yermak’s home.
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“The Office of the President of Ukraine will be reorganised. The head of the office, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation,” the Ukrainian president said in a video address, adding he would hold consultations with a possible replacement on Saturday.
Yermak, who had been leading the Ukrainian team trying to negotiate a United States-proposed plan to end Kyiv’s four-year war with Russia, had confirmed his apartment was being searched earlier in the day and said he was fully cooperating.
“There are no obstacles for the investigators. They have been given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are present on-site, cooperating with the law enforcement officers. From my side, there is full cooperation,” he wrote on social media.
Yermak did not immediately comment on the resignation announcement from Zelenskyy.
In a joint statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had said the searches were “authorised” and linked to an unspecified investigation.
Earlier this month, the two anticorruption agencies unveiled a sweeping investigation into an alleged $100m kickback scheme at the state atomic energy company that ensnared former senior officials and an ex-business partner of Zelenskyy.
Friday’s searches come as the Ukrainian president faces growing pressure from the administration of United States President Donald Trump to agree to Washington’s proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukraine and its European allies had raised concerns that the Trump-backed plan comprised some elements that Russia has been actively pushing for, including that Ukraine cede additional territory and curtail the size of its military.
But a revised proposal has been put forward, and Kyiv has said it is open to negotiations.
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