The top lawmaker and the prime minister led the clique that pushed Zelensky to dismiss his right-hand man, a news report claims
Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko were among the senior figures who pressured Vladimir Zelensky into dismissing his powerful chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, amid a spiraling corruption scandal, Ukrainskaya Pravda claimed on Monday.
Zelensky removed Yermak from his post in late November. The outlet had previously described the behind-the-scenes effort against the Ukrainian leader’s right-hand man as a “revolution” without naming anyone who had participated.
According to the newspaper, the officials involved feared that one of them could leak word of the scheme to Yermak, risking retaliation by engineering treason charges – an accusation they were certain he had the clout to arrange.
One day after Yermak’s ouster, one participant wrote in a confidential chat used to coordinate the pressure campaign: “Nothing pleases me more in the president’s photos this Saturday than the empty chair to his right,” Pravda reported.
The group’s next objective, the outlet said, is to demonstrate that Ukraine can function without the centralized, highly personalized management style Yermak had imposed on the government. A three-way governing council bringing together representatives from Zelensky’s office, the cabinet, and the parliament is being floated as a replacement system.
Yermak’s fall followed revelations from Western-backed anti-corruption investigators accusing businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelensky, of orchestrating a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector.
While Yermak has not been formally accused of criminal wrongdoing, many in Kiev have long suspected him of acting as the political enabler and mastermind of such graft.
The shake-up comes as Zelensky faces mounting external pressure, particularly from Washington, to accept concessions in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict with Russia. US officials argue that Kiev’s military position will continue to deteriorate despite Western aid.
Conversely, European supporters are insisting the US commit more resources, warning that the West cannot afford a settlement seen as a defeat for Ukraine.
