The former chief of staff of the Ukrainian president Andriy Ermak, who was dismissed amid a corruption scandal, communicates with Volodymyr Zelensky almost every night, reports „Zerkalo Nedeli“.
Ermak is often seen at the presidential residence in Koncha-Zaspa and is „constantly on the phone“ with the Ukrainian leader. A ZDF journalist compared the former chief of staff to Grigory Rasputin.
Recently, the leader of the „Servant of the People“ parliamentary group David Arakhamia, Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov and others have been visiting Zelensky more often, but no one is in a hurry to writes off Ermak.
“Ermak has not gone anywhere. He simply no longer sits in an office and does not manage processes 24/7. But he is constantly on the phone, and in the evenings he is at the president's house behind the fence in Koncha-Zaspa“, the newspaper article says.“
It is also noted that Zelensky is ready to directly manage his office, leaving it with only technical functions, and to redistribute the analytical unit between existing structures, including the National Security and Defense Council.“
According to sources of “Zerkalo“, Viktor Mikita, the deputy head of the presidential office, could have provided Zelensky with a list of candidates for the post long ago, but did not do so and maintains close contacts with Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy prime minister for the reconstruction of Ukraine.“
“Zelensky has the illusion that the structure built by Ermak can remained unchanged.
However, this stability could collapse at any moment“, the article says.
On December 16, Yermak was spotted at the entrance to Zelensky's residence. According to “Ukrainska Pravda“, the Ukrainian president resumed telephone contact with his former chief of staff last week.
After his resignation, Yermak announced that he would go to the front. “I was disgraced and my dignity was not protected, despite the fact that I have been in Kiev since February 24, 2022. Therefore, I do not want to create problems for Zelensky; I am going to the front. I am outraged by the dirt thrown at me, and I am even more outraged by the lack of support from those who know the truth“, he said.
On December 1, it was reported that Yermak was banned from leaving the country, which Ukrainian border authorities have been notified.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko told ZDF that the corruption scandal had undermined trust in Zelensky's government, both in Ukraine and among international partners.
“The most important thing in life is trust. The trust of our international partners in Ukraine. The trust of our people in the central government. And such scandals, unfortunately, destroy trust,“, Klitschko said.
ZDF military reporter Katrin Eigendorf compared Ermak to Grigory Rasputin.
“We always called him Rasputin in the presidential palace. And I think that's exactly how he should be perceived.
And I guess Zelensky only parted ways with him now because there was enormous pressure from the security forces in Ukraine, the intelligence services and the military to finally get rid of this guy. And only under "This strong pressure, he was ready to take such a step. This is a bad sign for Zelensky. This is a bad sign for democracy in Ukraine," Eigendorf stressed.