Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, after anti-corruption investigators raided Yermak’s Kyiv residence.
Yermak, long considered Zelensky’s closest and most influential adviser, has played a central role in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion. Although he has not been accused of wrongdoing, mounting pressure over a widening corruption scandal pushed him to step aside.
In a solemn address outside his presidential office, Zelensky urged unity, warning that internal division could jeopardise Ukraine’s future. “We risk losing everything: ourselves, Ukraine, our future,” he said. The scandal has shaken the government for weeks and threatens to weaken Ukraine’s posture in sensitive negotiations with the United States.
Zelensky had recently tasked Yermak with leading crucial talks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, who has launched a renewed push to bring the war to an end. Ukraine and its European partners have been working to revise a U.S.-drafted peace plan viewed in Kyiv as overly favourable to Moscow.
On Friday morning, Ukraine’s two main anti-corruption bodies conducted a search of Yermak’s apartment in the capital’s government district. Yermak responded online, saying he was offering “full cooperation” to investigators.
“I’m grateful to Andriy that Ukraine’s negotiating position was always presented clearly and patriotically,” Zelensky said in his national address. He added that consultations on selecting a new chief of staff would begin on Saturday. “In times when diplomacy and defence demand absolute focus, inner stability is essential.”
He cautioned against internal conflict: “Russia wants Ukraine to make mistakes. There will be none from our side. Our work continues, our fight continues. We have no right to retreat or to quarrel.”
Yermak’s departure represents a major setback for Zelensky, especially with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll expected in Kyiv within days as part of Trump’s developing peace initiative. U.S. officials will also meet Russian representatives in Moscow next week, and President Vladimir Putin has endorsed a Hungarian proposal to host a Trump–Putin summit in Budapest.
Putin continues to insist on sweeping territorial concessions, claiming Russia holds the battlefield initiative and reiterating that the war will end only when Ukrainian forces withdraw completely from the eastern Donbas region—including key cities still under Ukrainian control. “If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force,” he warned.
Hours before the raid, Yermak defended Ukraine’s firm stance against territorial concessions while speaking to The Atlantic, insisting Kyiv would not agree to hand over land seized during Russia’s invasion in February 2022. “As long as Zelensky is president, no one should expect us to give up territory,” he said.
Acknowledging “enormous” pressure on him to resign, the 54-year-old said the ongoing investigation must be “objective, independent, and free from political influence.”
