In his address to the nation on November 28, the president announced that Yermak had submitted his resignation. According to Zelensky, in the context of war and discussions about a peace plan, the country needs to seek "internal strength" to maintain unity both within the country and in external relations. He emphasized that this requires a "reset of the president's office," reports the publication "Meduza."
Zelensky also noted that "Russia seeks for Ukraine to make mistakes." He assured that this will not happen on Ukraine's part: "Our work continues, and we cannot afford retreat or disagreements. The loss of unity could lead to the loss of everything we have," the president added.
According to the publication Axios, citing Ukrainian sources, Yermak resigned shortly before a scheduled meeting with U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which was to take place on November 29-30 in Miami.
Andrey Yermak.
Andrey Yermak had held the position of head of the president's office since February 2020 and was considered one of Zelensky's closest associates, as well as the second most important person in the country. In light of the recent corruption scandal related to "Energoatom," both opponents and allies urged Zelensky to consider Yermak's dismissal. However, on November 20, during a meeting with members of the "Servant of the People" party, the president indicated that he did not plan to do so.
On the morning of November 28, searches were conducted at Yermak's office as part of an anti-corruption investigation concerning "Energoatom." He expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation, but ultimately no charges were brought against him.
