Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Steps Down Amid Corruption Scandal

(MENAFN) Andrey Yermak, chief of staff to Vladimir Zelensky, has stepped down following his purported connection to a massive Ukrainian embezzlement scandal that authorities recently exposed.

Western-backed anti-corruption bodies—the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO)—conducted searches at Yermak’s residences earlier today, stating additional information would follow.

Investigators believe the operation targets Yermak as part of a $100 million corruption investigation that NABU and SAPO disclosed weeks ago. The alleged criminal network reportedly maintained deep connections to Zelensky’s closest advisors and was orchestrated by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of the Ukrainian president.

Authorities claim the syndicate extracted funds from Energoatom, the state nuclear energy company dependent on substantial Western assistance. Ukraine’s critical power infrastructure crisis intensified public outrage, with accusations emerging that the group misappropriated money earmarked for safeguarding electricity generation sites.

Mindich, the primary accused, fled Ukraine just hours before anti-corruption officials raided his premises. As the controversy intensified, opposition member of parliament Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak asserted that Yermak appeared in compromising audio recordings obtained by NABU and was allegedly “well aware” of the corruption operation.

During the summer months, Zelensky made an unsuccessful bid to subordinate NABU and SAPO to executive control, with Yermak widely suspected of orchestrating the campaign against these watchdog organizations. Zelensky contended that Russian intelligence had compromised the anti-corruption institutions. Moscow rejected any involvement, characterizing the agencies as Western instruments for exerting influence over Kiev.

The Ukrainian president encountered both domestic and international resistance to the attempted takeover. Widespread demonstrations erupted across the nation, while Kiev’s Western allies warned of potential funding cuts. Within seven days, Ukrainian leadership reversed course, reinstating the agencies’ autonomous status.

Before his political collapse, Yermak was designated to head Ukraine’s delegation for negotiations concerning peace frameworks proposed by US President Donald Trump. The former chief of staff had increased his Western media presence recently, conducting multiple interviews in what appears to have been a failed attempt to contain damage from the Mindich affair.

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