The fall of Zelensky’s right-hand man due to corruption weakens his position in negotiations with the US and Russia

With his fall due to mega corruption scandal that plagues his Government, Zelensky He also loses his main negotiator complicating, even more if possible, the decisive talks that kyiv has with the US on the peace plan that the White House proposes to settle the war with Russia and that seriously compromise the territorial unity of Ukraine.

“He always had a patriotic position”Zelensky himself defended this Friday about the performance in these contacts with the United States of Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation in the last meetings with emissaries from the White House in Geneva. “But I want there to be no rumors or speculation,” he added in a speech to the nation after announcing his resignation.

The Ukrainian president announced that representatives of the intelligence services, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Army and the National Security Council who, together with his until now right-hand man, were part of the negotiating team They will continue to represent Ukraine at the next meeting with the Americanswhich must take place, as he said, “in the nearest future.”

With this ‘firewall‘, Zelenski tries to not to compromise Ukraine’s position in the negotiations crucial discussions that kyiv maintains with the United States regarding the peace plan proposed by the White House and that it negotiated behind its back with Moscow.

However, this crisis explodes at its worst moment. According to some American media, the renewed push for talks by the Trump Administration in recent weeks would seek take advantage of the weakness of the Zelensky government caused by the corruption scandal to lower some of its red lines, such as the transfer of the eastern territories of Ukraine to Moscow.

The departure of Andrí Yermak also represents the end of an era for the Administration part of President Zelenski.

Throughout the war, Yermak has been the most powerful figure in Ukraine after the presidentto the point that many considered him the de facto prime minister and the person primarily responsible for representing the country abroad above the Foreign Minister.

Inseparable de Zelenski

According to a profile published by The Financial Times, Zelensky and Yermak have lived together since the beginning of the conflict and they shared almost all their days, working or playing table tennis, watching movie classics or exercising together in the little free time they have.

Their relationship extends to long before they came to power. Yermak lawyer and film producer, He worked for years with Zelensky, offering legal services and even founding a production company.Garnet Media Group, when he was still an actor and comedian.

When Zelensky assumed the presidency in 2019, Yermak became his foreign policy advisor. In that position and in that same year, he obtained one of his first political achievements after negotiate a prisoner exchange with Moscowin which more than thirty Ukrainians captured by pro-Russian rebels in Donbas returned.

With the start of the Russian invasion in February 2020, Yermak assumed a more relevant role as appointed head of the Cabinet.

Since then, Yermak’s figure had escalated to the point of overshadow all ministers and exercise almost absolute control over the meeting agenda of the president.

Its position was also reinforced externally. Thus, he was the one who led the Ukrainian delegation in the talks with the United States, headed by Marco Rubioin Geneva last weekend about a possible solution to the war in Ukraine.

Faced with criticism of their excessive prominence, both Yermak and Zelensky had argued until now that the complete dedication and unwavering loyalty of his ‘right hand’ It is exactly what the former comedian needs to carry out the role of head of state that corresponds to him without having to deal with the most annoying matters.

Surrounded by corruption

Although the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has not clarified for now in relation to what case it carried out the searches this Friday at Yermak’s home and office, kyiv media link them to his pPossible involvement in the scheme of commissions to contractors of the public atomic energy companyknown in the country as the ‘Midas case’.

The plot – which was uncovered by NABU this month and caused a political earthquake – would be led by Zelensky’s former business partner Timur Mindich, who would have used his influence over the then head of Energy, Svitlana Grinchuk, and at least the minister of justice Herman Galushchenko, both already fired, parto profit by forcing bribes to be paid in exchange for access to contracts with the company.

According to NABU, the network laundered at least 100 million dollarss obtained by these means.

Yermak mentioned in the intercepted conversations with the alias ‘Alí Baba’ which was given to him by the initials of his name and his patronymic, Andri Borisovich. At the moment it has not emerged what quality appears in the recordings and the NABU has not publicly stated that it intends to charge him.

After the alleged bribery scheme was uncovered this month, Zelensky’s collaborators and deputies from his own party asked him even then to get rid of his lieutenant due to rumors of his alleged involvement in this scandal.

He president ignored that advice at firstand the commotion caused in Ukraine by the Russian demands – for Ukraine to withdraw from the territory it still controls in its Donbas region and to renounce any type of post-war protection from NATO countries – included in the White House peace planThey shifted attention to negotiations with the United States.

But the NABU searches Yermak this Friday morning They put Zelensky’s trusted man in the gun again, who has finally given in and has chosen to dissociate himself from his most faithful collaborator.