Zelenskyy’s chief of staff resigns as Ukraine corruption investigations widen

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, whose residence was searched earlier in the day by anti-corruption investigators.

Yermak has been Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the United States. He has also been a trusted confidante of Zelenskyy’s for years.

The unprecedented searches at the heart of Ukraine’s government come at a time when Kyiv is under intense U.S. pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia invaded.

Two national agencies fighting entrenched corruption in Ukraine said their searches targeted Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesperson for Yermak, said the anti-graft agencies had not served Yermak a notice of suspicion, meaning he was not a suspect in an investigation. Tkachuk added that Yermak had not been told what the searches related to.

Yermak, a powerful figure in Ukraine and a key participant in talks with the United States, confirmed they searched his apartment inside the presidential compound in downtown Kyiv, where checkpoints limit public access. Media reports said Yermak’s office was also searched, but investigators declined to comment on that.

It was not clear where Zelenskyy or Yermak were at the time of the morning raid.

“The investigators are facing no obstacles,” Yermak wrote on the messaging app Telegram. He added that he was cooperating fully with them and his lawyers were present.

Energy sector

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are Ukrainian anti-corruption watchdogs. They are currently leading a major investigation into a $100 million energy sector corruption scandal involving top Ukrainian officials which has dominated domestic headlines in recent weeks.

It was not clear if the searches were connected to the case and a spokesperson for the NABU, Anton Tatarnikov, declined to comment, citing legal restrictions on revealing details on an ongoing probe.

A spokesperson for the European commission, Guillaume Mercier, told Ukrainian local news, Radio Svoboda, on Friday that they were following developments closely and that the searches showed that Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies were working. He added that fighting corruption was central to the country’s European Union accession.

Investigators suspect that Tymur Mindich, a one-time business partner of Zelenskyy, was the plot’s mastermind. Mindich has fled the country, with any criminal proceedings against him likely to be carried out in absentia. Two top government ministers have resigned in the scandal.

Two of Yermak’s former deputies — Oleh Tatarov and Rostyslav Shurma — left the government in 2024 after watchdogs investigated them for financial wrongdoing. A third deputy, Andrii Smyrnov, was investigated for bribes and other wrongdoing but still works for Yermak.

Political turmoil

The scandal has heaped more problems on Zelenskyy as he seeks continued support from Western countries for Ukraine’s war effort and tries to ensure continued foreign funding. The European Union, which Ukraine wants to join, has told Zelenskyy he must crack down on graft.

Zelenskyy faced an unprecedented rebellion from his own lawmakers earlier this month after investigators published details of their energy sector investigation.

Although Yermak was not accused of any wrongdoing, several senior lawmakers in Zelenskyy’s party said Yermak should take responsibility for the debacle in order to restore public trust. Some said that if Zelenskyy didn’t fire him, the party could split, threatening the president’s parliamentary majority. But Zelenskyy defied them.

Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to unite and “stop the political games” in light of the U.S. pressure to reach a settlement with Russia.

Yermak met Zelenskyy over 15 years ago when he was a lawyer venturing into the TV production business and Zelenskyy was a famous Ukrainian comedian and actor.

He oversaw foreign affairs as part of Zelenskyy’s first presidential team and was promoted to chief of staff in February 2020.

Yermak has accompanied Zelenskyy on every trip abroad since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and the president’s trust in him has made Yermak’s power appear almost untouchable.

Domestically, officials describe Yermak as Zelenskyy’s gatekeeper, and he is widely believed to have chosen all top government appointees, including prime ministers and ministers.

Individuals connected to Yermak and the president’s office have come under investigation before.