Andriy Yermak ran Ukraine's presidential office and was in effect an unelected chief minister. Before appearing as a junior aide to Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, he had been a TV and film producer, a lawyer, an operative in the fashion industry and a fixer for kiosk businesses. His political rise was meteoric and unexpected.
Mr Yermak was instrumental in a corruption charge against deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, the planned appointment of Yulia Svyrydenko as prime minister (an associate of his) and repeated attempts to remove spy chief Kyrylo Budanov. Officials say he controlled roughly 85% of the information reaching the president, creating an atmosphere of innuendo and conspiracy at the heart of government. Reports in Politico described bipartisan American despair at his lecturing approach to diplomacy.
One former minister described Yermak and Mr Zelensky as "alter egos", in effect running a joint presidency.
In November 2025 a corruption scandal at Energoatom, the state nuclear company, precipitated Yermak's fall. He was not directly accused of involvement in the embezzlement, but had alienated both friends and enemies by monopolising access to the president. He briefly staved off removal by taking charge of emergency peace talks in Geneva.
After a raid by anti-corruption investigators, Yermak was forced out as presidential chief of staff, ending six years in which his oversize figure had dominated domestic politics. He denied any wrongdoing but may face charges. He told an American journalist that his next move might be to enlist as a soldier—signing up would preclude a criminal court case, though it would not stop an ongoing investigation. Two names were under consideration as successor: Mykhailo Fedorov, deputy prime minister, and Denys Shmyhal, defence minister and ex-prime minister.
The Tree of Learning bears the noblest fruit, but noble fruit tastes bad.