Andriy Yermak, 54 and (former) chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, was Volodymyr Zelensky’s most important ally. He was a divisive figure in Kiev, where his opponents claim he had amassed power, prevented access to the president and ruthlessly sidelined critical voices.

A former film producer and copyright lawyer, he entered politics with Zelensky in 2019, having collaborated with him as a popular comedian. Yermak was widely regarded as the second most influential man in the country and was sometimes even nicknamed “vice president”. The most malicious, on the other hand, called him “Ali Baba”, who last Friday saw police officers show up at the door of his house, in Bank Street.

“Yermak does not allow anyone to approach Zelensky, except loyal people,” said a former senior official who worked with Zelensky and Yermak, describing him as “super paranoid.” “It definitely tries to influence almost every decision,” he added.

A prominent source in Zelensky’s party said that Yermak’s influence on the president was akin to a kind of “hypnosis.”

Speaking after the sudden decision on Yermak, the European Union supported the work of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. “We have great respect for the investigations that show that anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are doing their job,” said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho.

“Russia conquered, for the first time, parts of Ukraine in 2014, annexing Crimea in a rapid and almost bloodless territorial invasion. In September 2022 – continues The Atlantic media – during the first year of the full-scale invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that four other regions of southern and eastern Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which included about 15% of the country’s territory – would be “forever” part of Russia.

The Kremlin then held a referendum to approve the annexation of these regions and declare them Russian territory, in accordance with the Constitution, making it politically difficult for Putin to revoke his territorial claims.

“Ukraine must withdraw” from Donbass “and the fighting can stop” – writes Adnkronos. Vladimir Putin opens ceasefire in the war between Ukraine and Russia. It does so, however, once again setting an unsustainable condition for Kiev.

Data on the rate of advance of Russian forces in Ukraine indicate that a victory for Moscow, this being the case, is inevitable “even if the conquest of the remaining part of Donetsk is not imminent” – writes the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that follows the developments of the war on a daily basis. Russian forces have prioritized completing the capture of Pokrovsk and neighboring (further eastern) Myrnohrad, but they are proceeding slowly and Ukrainian forces have slowed their advance in steps,” the ISW points out.

This slowdown strategy of the Russian President could be functional to buy time, in order to take advantage of the freezing winter to avoid losses to his army, use this card in negotiations, while the Ukrainians remain mired in the Donbass.

Yermak had been a loyal supporter of Zelensky during the war. The two men are portrayed together in official photos of almost all presidential events. According to the media, their beds are next to each other, in the underground bunker of the presidential office and, in their free time, they play ping-pong, watch movies or train (while the people are exhausted, 20 thousand people a month desert, thousands of young people flee the country not to go to the front and the Kremlin’s army seems increasingly powerful on the ground,  both numerically and in terms of armaments).

Yermak is widely unpopular in society and is not trusted by two-thirds of the population, according to a March 2025 survey conducted by the NGO “Razumkov Center”.

Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko had said, before Yermak’s removal, that it was necessary for him to strengthen Kiev’s position in talks with the United States. Alluding to the vulnerability of the moment, Zelensky also stressed that he cannot afford political missteps at this time.

“If we lose our unity, we risk losing everything” – is the President’s appeal. But Putin has the potential and military strength to achieve the conquest of Ukraine by 2027, if he keeps this pace low. If it were to see its requests rejected, it could accelerate, with men and means at the forefront, so that the missing territories would be conquered much sooner. The Ukrainian president is probably aware of this heavy burden on his shoulders.

Volodymyr Zelensky has fired his chief of staff and chief negotiator Andriy Yermak. A few minutes earlier, it was the president’s (former) right-hand man himself who had submitted his resignation, after the developments in the corruption investigation that has hit the Ukrainian government in recent weeks. This move seemed, to some analysts, like the sacrifice of a scapegoat to divert attention from the possible, eventual, responsibilities of the President.

Yermak’s removal also represents a blow to Zelensky, who faces a growing Russian offensive in the east, as Washington proposes a plan to end the war that Kyiv fears could secure major concessions to Moscow. Meanwhile, during the night, Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital, killing one person, injuring several and causing damage to buildings.

Yermak was supposed to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine during crucial peace talks in the United States this weekend, with very tough positions on not granting territories. This, too, may have been an elaborate ploy to send Ukraine’s more diplomatic Security Council secretary Rustem Umerov to lead the negotiations, according to two senior Ukrainian officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Just last week, Zelensky had appointed Yermak as Ukraine’s chief negotiator, despite mounting pressure from the opposition, to remove the controversial chief of staff, accused of involvement in a $100 million bribery scheme in the strategic energy sector.

This story, combined with that of the two officials with golden toilets, has sparked the anger of citizens, at a time when Russia is hammering the Ukrainian electricity grid with repercussions also on the country’s heating system.

In her speech this morning at the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, set out five key priorities that the EU considers indispensable for any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

The first priority is that the agreement guarantees a just and lasting peace, accompanied by real security guarantees for Kiev. For Brussels, there can be no limits on the Ukrainian Armed Forces or provisions that make it vulnerable to future attacks, Ukraine’s security is considered an integral part of European security.

Second priority: the full protection of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The EU rejects any logic of “dividing” the country or changing borders by force. Kiev, von der Leyen reiterated, must be able to freely choose its European future, which has already begun with integration into the single market and the defense sector.

Ensure the necessary financial means to support Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. The president of the European executive recalled that the Union has already made the political commitment and that the Commission is ready to present a legislative text, including the use of immobilized Russian assets. “There is no scenario in which only European taxpayers pay,” he warned.

Define the role of the EU in the implementation of the agreement. Brussels expects that much of the executive phase – from security guarantees to the sanctions regime, from reconstruction to integration into the single market and the accession process – will depend directly on the Union and NATO partners. The line remains firm: “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about Europe without Europe, nothing about NATO without NATO”.

Meanwhile, Yermak has not made any public statements. On Telegram, later in the day, he confirmed the raid by anti-corruption agencies and said he was ready to “fully cooperate” with the authorities. “The investigators are not encountering any obstacles. They had full access to the apartment and my lawyers are on site, they are interacting with law enforcement,” he said.

While Zelensky will have to appoint Yermak’s official replacement, Putin expects an American delegation this week. Witkoff should bring to Moscow the plan that should form the basis for continuing the negotiations, which see Kiev in extreme difficulty, both politically and economically, militarily and infrastructurally and a Von der Leyen who does not seem to want to give in on the points announced, hindering, in fact, this peace process.