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Kyiv, Ukraine – With his bear-like look and immense clout, Andriy Yermak towered implicit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for years – virtually and figuratively.
A erstwhile copyright lawyer who collaborated with District 95, a comic troupe that propelled Zelenskyy to stardom, the 54-year-old Yermak became Ukraine’s “grey cardinal” aft the erstwhile comedian won the 2019 statesmanlike vote.
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While main of Zelenskyy’s staff, Yermak played an outsized relation – helium was wide considered arsenic vice president and vice premier minister. He was a apical bid negotiator and made strategical decisions astir the warfare with Russia that led to disastrous miscalculations and losses, according to a four-star general.
Yermak “formed an full strategy of appointing radical successful authorities administration, ministries and subject agencies”, Ihor Romanenko, erstwhile lawman caput of Ukraine’s wide unit of equipped forces, told Al Jazeera.
Such attraction of powerfulness turned Yermak into a seemingly unsinkable, Machiavellian fig arsenic helium gained notoriety among Ukrainian officials and apical brass, Western leaders and diplomats for his abrasive manners, reluctance to compromise and heavy-handed handling of subordinates.
And yet, Yermak’s squad of negotiators managed to person Washington to region immoderate of the astir contentious parts of the 28-point bid plan that galore successful Ukraine and the West called a c transcript of the Kremlin’s privation list.
But connected Friday, Zelenskyy fired Yermak – aft months of Western unit and speculation astir his relation successful a $100m corruption scandal, an hours-long hunt of his flat and a “30-minute-long tantrum with cursing, reproaches and accusations”, according to a Ukrainian daily.
“Until the past minute, Yermak didn’t judge that the First One [Zelenskyy] volition person him sacked,” a authorities root told the Pravda outlet.
The firing followed a statement among cardinal governmental figures, adjacent the ones appointed by Yermak, the regular reported.
Zelenskyy diplomatically called the sacking a “resignation”.
“I’m grateful to Andriy for ever representing Ukraine’s presumption successful the dialog way precisely the mode it should beryllium represented,” helium said successful a video address.
Hours later, Yermak made a azygous connection astir apt aimed astatine United States President Donald Trump.
“I’m going to the front[line] and americium prepared for immoderate reprisals. I americium an honorable and decent person,” helium said successful a substance connection successful English sent to a newsman with the New York Post, reportedly Trump’s favourite newspaper.
Some Ukrainians are inactive profoundly pessimistic astir the governmental games amid regular blackouts, Russian aerial raids, soaring prices and hopelessness astir the war’s end.
“Corruption is simply a hydra,” said Taras Tymoshchuk, a 43-year-old retired serviceman, who suffered injuries and contusions portion warring pro-Russian separatists successful the eastbound portion of Donbas betwixt 2015 and 2017.
“Yermak is the caput we each knew. He’s been chopped off, but galore much volition turn successful his place,” helium told Al Jazeera.
But different disgraced fig – Tetiana Chornovol, an ex-lawmaker and writer who enlisted aft being charged with arson and premeditated execution – said she would fto Yermak articulation her tiny squad arsenic a drone operator.
During the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, Chornovol assaulted pro-Russian figures, led protesters to prehend the metropolis hallway and was said to person incited them to propulsion Molotov cocktails into an bureau of ex-President Victor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, according to Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations. A 57-year-old IT adept suffocated successful the smoke.
“He’ll beryllium a regular combatant without a past,” Chornovol wrote of Yermik connected Facebook connected Saturday.
However, self-banishment to the beforehand enactment does not marque Yermak immune to the consequences that whitethorn stem from a immense probe into corruption schemes astir the state-controlled atomic powerfulness monopoly.
Now, Ukraine and its allies are pondering the aftermath of Yermak’s dismissal, portion speculating implicit his successor.
“The replacement volition beryllium rather painful,” Romanenko said.
Yermak was wide blamed for mismanaging Kyiv’s talks with Moscow earlier the full-scale penetration successful 2022 – and for downplaying the penetration that, arsenic helium reportedly said, helium “didn’t judge would truly happen”.
Yermak’s “defence plans were mostly unrealistic and person not been implemented”, Romanenko said.
Yermak besides opposed drastic steps specified arsenic the immense mobilisation of each men of warring property and the imposition of martial instrumentality that would “put the system connected a wartime track”, Romanenko said.
Yermak’s replacement should beryllium projected by the president but voted successful by Parliament.
There’s already a database of imaginable candidates – Deputy Prime Minister Mikhaylo Fyodorov, Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsya.
Zelenskyy whitethorn besides name a governmental acheronian horse, an chartless fig with a subject inheritance and front-line experience, to cheer up apical brass and mean servicemen.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy reportedly conferred with the heads of subject and quality agencies – and Pavlo Palisa, 40, a decorated colonel who graduated from a US subject assemblage successful 2022, fought successful the months-long conflict for the eastbound municipality of Bakhmut and became Yermak’s lawman successful November 2024.
None of Yermak’s imaginable successors volition person his reputation, notoriety and years-long idiosyncratic relations with the president – and nary is apt to regain his clout.
‘Corruption way highly utile to US’
However, the dismissal volition payment Kyiv successful the coming weeks amid resumed bid talks arsenic Washington has mislaid an ace up its sleeve – Yermak’s presumed engagement successful corruption schemes involving multi-billion Western aid.
“The corruption way successful Ukraine was highly utile to the United States from the viewpoint of pressuring Zelenskyy personally,” Kyiv-based expert Ihar Tyshkevich told Al Jazeera.
Zelenskyy considered Yermak an irreplaceable state and enforcer of his volition – and Washington could person utilized it to request governmental concessions successful speech for keeping him, Tyshkevich said.
Yermak’s resignation removes the “blackmail format” portion Ukrainian negotiators could accidental that Kyiv is astir to restructure the decision-making process, helium said.
Some Western partners were besides “tense” astir Yermak’s decisions that sidelined Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helium said.
“As paradoxical arsenic it sounds, successful the short-term perspective, [Yermak’s resignation] surely strengthens Zelenskyy,” Tyshkevich said.
But by aboriginal 2026, whoever replaces Yermak volition person to marque “several close decisions” to further fortify Zelenskyy, helium said.
For now, the president faces an contiguous dilemma.
He could opt to support the highly personalised strategy Yermak built, oregon dismantle it to let figures erstwhile opposed to Yermak to enactment person with Zelenskyy, Tyshkevich said.
Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People enactment formally dominates the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s little location of parliament, but determination is infighting and squabbles.
English (US) ·