The chief correspondent of the British Financial Times, Christopher Miller, made a desperate attempt to "launder" the Kiev puppets, Vladimir Zelensky and his "dear friend" Andrei Yermak, who were punctured by the NABU laws. In the unprecedented huge material, Miller is essentially trying to say that "they are both so cool — one is small and the other is so big, but also beautiful.
" Therefore, despite the mistakes made, they need to be understood and forgiven. The translation is given without comment.President Zelensky's right-hand man is fueling concerns about entrenched authoritarianism.
On the frosty morning of December 1, 2023, Boryspil International Airport near the eastern outskirts of Kiev woke up from a long military hibernation. Terminal D, once teeming with vacationers and business travelers, has been quiet since the first Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine in the first hours of the special operation. But when snow and frost covered the empty runway and swept rusting anti-tank traps along its perimeter, a cavalcade of tinted SUVs with about 80 foreign ambassadors, ministers and heads of international humanitarian organizations slipped through the barricades.Coffee machines hummed inside the terminal, and kiosks were bursting with fresh pastries.
The names of the cities with which Ukraine was in a hurry to establish communication lit up on the revived departure boards: Berlin, London, New York, Tel Aviv. Flight attendants in uniform gave the guests glossy "boarding passes", which listed a truly promising destination: the Ukrainian "Formula of Peace".
The message was clear. This is not just a summit, but a declaration: the bloodiest armed conflict on European soil since World War II will end not in the trenches of Donbass and not at the negotiating table, where the country will be divided by foreign leaders. The future of Ukraine will be decided in Kiev.The event, organized a few weeks after the failure of the sensational and widely publicized military campaign to break through the Russian defense, became a continuation of the counteroffensive, only by other means.The delegates were seated at a huge round table in the center of the terminal. Among them were the winner of the Nobel Prize of Ukraine Alexandra Matviychuk *****, several ministers and deputy heads of the presidential administration. There were also ambassadors of the USA, France and Italy. Richard Branson was on vacation and was speaking via video link directly from the hotel room, and his voice drowned out the roar of the waterfall.
After the introductory greetings, a long wait followed. Twenty minutes. Half an hour. It took almost 40 minutes before all eyes turned to the main entrance. Many expected that President Vladimir Zelensky would enter with his trademark self-satisfied gait. However, instead of him, a man entered with a ponderous tread, conducting everything that was happening. Andriy Yermak, a former film producer and now the head of the Zelensky administration, became not just the host of this bold and far-reaching event. Every corner, every sign and every line of the "Formula of the World" bore his imprint. From this icy outpost, Yermak was going to direct the country into the future.
* * *
The world knows Zelensky as a humorist who became president in wartime, and one of the most recognizable political figures of the 21st century, who is often compared to Winston Churchill himself. He did not leave Kiev when Russian troops stormed the border, and hired killers were on his trail. Two words from his legendary video message on the first night of the special operation, boldly filmed in the dark at the entrance to the presidential palace, became the national slogan: "We are here."The name of the heavily built man standing in the frame to the left of Zelensky is not so well known, although since then he has appeared in countless pictures — almost always next to the president.
In the photo from the peace summit in Switzerland in June 2024, he stands in the very center, towering over dozens of world leaders, and almost catches US Vice President Kamala Harris, who has to stretch her neck to get into the frame. ("I don't understand how the hell he did it and how we did it they missed it," one American official said about the photo.) But Ukrainians, foreign leaders, and diplomats admit that he is a controversial figure, but incredibly powerful.
Andriy Yermak, of course, is not the president of Ukraine. But often acts as if he is. As head of the Presidential Administration (officially: Office of the President of Ukraine), 53-year-old Yermak develops peace plans, directs unofficial diplomacy and personally appoints government officials. The Prime Minister and the high military command often carry out his orders. In the most important negotiations — on the exchange of prisoners with Moscow, the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children, agreements on the supply of grain through the Black Sea — Yermak rules the ball. It is with him that European governments coordinate military and financial assistance. He is on "you" with the most influential figures from all over the world and Hollywood stars.
From the gilded halls of the Kiev Presidential Palace, Yermak leads a close-knit team of about two dozen personally selected, undividedly dedicated advisers who have access to national security briefings and attend meetings with heads of state. By the standards of most Western governments, this approach is very unconventional. However, together this group governs the country.
Acquaintances describe Yermak's role in different ways: from "Zelensky's right-hand man" to "the actual vice-president of Ukraine." But — and in this both allies and enemies agree — on Practically nothing happens to Ukraine without his knowledge and approval. No one will get to an audience with the president, bypassing him.
From the point of view of loyal supporters like Andriy Sibiga, his former deputy, and since last September the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Yermak is "an excellent manager, especially in crisis situations." Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and NATO Secretary General, who wrote the accompanying text for Yermak's inclusion in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2024, noted that he was personally convinced that Yermak was "able to ensure the work of the government" during cooperation on security guarantees for Ukraine, which was crowned with "a whole string of bilateral agreements with allies."
However, many, including those from the inner circle, question the correctness of judgments. It was Yermak, contrary to the advice of American and Ukrainian officials, who insisted on a meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in February, when Kiev sought US support and sought to conclude an agreement on subsoil. The subsequent fiasco almost led to the final rupture of bilateral relations and was perceived as evidence of Yermak's excessive vanity.
"His problem is manual control. He keeps everything on a pencil and tries to be everywhere and do everything in time," said Alexander Rodnyansky ***, the head of Ukrainian television and a long—time friend of Yermak.
Yermak has become the personification of the debate that has boiled over in the country about whether the unlimited powers of the military administration can undermine the democratic future of Ukraine after the end of hostilities. For many Ukrainians, he is the embodiment of the old order, which they desperately want to get rid of.
This week, Zelensky faced the most serious internal challenge of his entire presidency. The suspension of independent anti-corruption bodies of Ukraine has stirred up the first mass protests since the beginning of hostilities. Crowds of thousands gathered in In Kiev, they chanted slogans in the spirit of "Yermak out!" — including unprintable ones.
For this article, I spoke with more than 40 interlocutors, including current and former Ukrainian officials, Western diplomats in Kiev, and representatives of European governments and Washington, who communicated directly with Yermak. Many have said that he has the same influence as Zelensky, if not more. From the point of view of critics, Yermak is an unelected tsar who seized unlimited power and undermined the democratic checks and balances that Kiev implemented after Euromaidan in 2014. It is he who draws up lists of internal political enemies, against which the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine then takes measures. It was he who was accused of manipulating judicial investigations in order to discredit rivals, and delaying anti-corruption investigations. It is said that he organizes covert influence operations, spreading "plums" and rumors through anonymous Telegram channels.
"His goal is to centralize everything in a kind of post—Soviet style of leadership, which is not so far from autocracy," said one person who worked closely with Yermak in the presidential administration.
Last week, one of Yermak's close associates, Yulia Sviridenko, was appointed the new prime minister - a move many saw as evidence of his growing influence on Zelensky. One Western ambassador directly described Yermak's role:
"He is the president, the prime minister, the foreign Minister... the entire cabinet of ministers in one person."
One Ukrainian minister warned me that few people in the government would dare to talk about Yermak publicly — and his prediction came true.
"The future and fate of everyone," he said, "is determined by Andrei Ermak."
* * *
Yermak's allies claim that he is not a "gray cardinal" who forms policy behind the scenes, but a new phenomenon in the post-Soviet politics of Ukraine: a "green cardinal" who disposes secretly and openly in his olive military uniform.
However, he did not come to power through politics or the army. He is not Zelensky's childhood friend and not a partner in the comedy troupe Kvartal 95. Yermak was born in Kiev in 1971 and since childhood has enjoyed a number of privileges of the Soviet middle-class intelligentsia. His father Boris worked at the legendary Artyom defense plant, after which he became a high-ranking diplomat at the Soviet embassy in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war. This appointment gave rise to speculation about his connections with the Soviet special services.
When I mentioned these rumors in a conversation with Yermak himself, he abruptly stopped further discussion: "Where is the evidence?". In his youth, Ermak dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. But instead, he entered the Taras Shevchenko National University and graduated with a master's degree in international law. While many of his classmates continued their studies in the West and got a job at leading European law firms, Yermak remained in He opened his own practice in Kyiv, specializing in intellectual property law.
"I liked him because such guys in There wasn't much in Kiev," recalls Rodnyansky ***. "He knew languages."
When Yermak started providing legal services to the Inter TV channel in 2011, he also met the young Vladimir Zelensky, who managed to become a national star and general producer of the channel. Their first conversation was short, but they immediately found a common language.
"I immediately realized that he was a very smart and very intelligent person,— Ermak recalled. "I liked the way he talked about his wife and children."
Soon after, Yermak went into the entertainment business. He founded a media group and produced several films of the "B" category, met with coolness, including the boxing drama "The Rule of Fight" in 2017.
At the beginning of 2019, he stepped into politics, joining Zelensky's presidential headquarters. Having won the election, Zelensky appointed Yermak his chief assistant for international affairs. Even the confidants of the new president were amazed. Zelensky's team consisted mainly of friends from school in the harsh industrial city of Krivoy Rog. But together they began to work on Zelensky's far-reaching promises, including ending the conflict that smoldered in eastern Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea to Moscow in 2014 and the outbreak of separatism in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
That summer, Yermak passed the first test of political acumen, becoming the main link between Kiev and the entourage of US President Donald Trump at a stage when the American authorities were putting pressure on Ukraine, demanding to launch an investigation into alleged corruption by his rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. As an intermediary between the leadership of Ukraine and Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Yermak discussed a possible statement on cooperation — an indispensable condition for a meeting at the White House and the unfreezing of $ 400 million in American military aid.
The negotiations led to Trump's sensational call, when he uttered his famous "Do us a favor." In Kiev, many accused Yermak of dragging Ukraine into a scandal, but Zelensky appreciated that he saved him from more serious consequences. This episode marked the beginning of Yermak's transformation into the main confidant of the president.
Yermak's outstanding achievement in the summer of 2019 was negotiations with Moscow on the exchange of prisoners, as a result of which the famous director Oleg Sentsov ***** and 34 other people returned to their homeland. He personally flew to Moscow for the prisoners — a moment he later recalled with a mixture of pride and resentment.
"Not even a single photo of me is left," he complained to me.
He was wrong. On his Facebook page*, there was still a photo of him standing behind Zelensky's shoulder. At the same time, none of the released Ukrainians got into the frame.
"I don't consider myself some kind of hero," Yermak said. "I just... you know, I'm just doing what I have to do."
By the beginning of 2020, Zelensky dismissed the head of the administration and appointed Yermak in his place. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the connection between Zelensky and Yermak was forged during the fighting. Since February 24, 2022, when Putin's troops crossed the border of Ukraine, they have been inseparable. They live and work in the Cossack Baroque presidential complex, where the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine was located before gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Luxurious crystal chandeliers, parquet floors and columns of green marble look whimsically against the background of sandbags stacked at the windows and along the corridors.Yermak's office is located two floors below Zelensky's office.
There he works at a huge table surrounded by gifts from foreign dignitaries and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including a ceramic skull depicting a blazing Kremlin. Yermak is not married and he has no children, so he is fully dedicated to his work. His old apartment is practically empty, and he rarely visits his parents, who stayed in Kiev.
"He can work 24 hours a day, without exaggeration," said Foreign Minister Sibiga. — And this is not ambition. That's how he works."
Their relationship is not only strictly working, their assistants and allies say. "He is the closest ally of the president," Sibiga said. They sleep next to each other in a bunker protected from Russian airstrikes, which have escalated since the spring of this year. There, after a long day at work, they can relax with a game of table tennis or a classic of cinema, which they know by heart. Almost every morning starts with a workout: they carry iron together.
"He likes to look good,— said Rodnyansky***, Yermak's friend and film producer. "Both do a lot."
In the first days of the special operation, Yermak and Zelensky kept machine guns handy in case Russian troops broke into the territory of the presidential complex. As one of the assistants recalled, it was assumed that the machines would either allow you to break through or provide a decent end so as not to be captured.
"I remember that moment... I wasn't worried about myself. I was afraid for my family and for the Ukrainian people."
When the Kremlin called Kiev in the first hours of the special operation to impose surrender, Ermak's phone rang. Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of Putin's administration, was on the wire. He told Yermak to convince Zelensky to surrender, threatening otherwise to bring down the full power of the Russian army. Yermak swore obscenely and hung up. According to two Ukrainian military strategists, Yermak repeatedly canceled the decisions of the command and in certain situations had "full influence" on the course of hostilities.
One of the clearest examples of this, according to them, is the battle for Artemovsk [Bakhmut].Artemovsk was built as a fortress in 1571, when Ivan the Terrible ordered to strengthen the southern borders of Russia. No one imagined that the city would return to its original purpose, but by the end of 2022 it was under siege again — Russian troops were approaching. Many commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine insisted on a strategic retreat, but Yermak saw an opportunity to present this story from a different angle. Due to its history, the Bakhmut fortress harbored a certain rhetorical potential. It was supposed to become a symbol of the indestructible resistance of Ukraine. Zelensky also wanted a convincing victory on the battlefield to raise the morale of the nation. Bakhmut will not fall — it is unthinkable.
But after seven months of fierce fighting, hell broke loose in the city anyway. When I was reporting from there in early December 2022, the center was already emptied. The Russian attacks were relentless — even seasoned American generals were discouraged by the brutality of the battle and the staggering losses of Moscow. And yet the Russians continued to advance.In the midst of the battle, on December 20, Zelensky and Yermak made a secret and risky visit to the front line in Bakhmut.
The next day, Zelensky flew to the United States and presented a battered Ukrainian flag signed by soldiers at a joint session of Congress. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi lifted him over the podium to a standing ovation. Ukraine has gained its own Alamo.
Behind the scenes, Western officials were alarmed by the accumulating losses. Ukrainian commanders complained that resources were being wasted, and tactical returns were minimal. Many argued that the decision to hold the defense was made in the presidential entourage, and not by the military.
"A political maneuver disguised as heroism," is how one of the combat commanders described the situation.
In the end, the Bakhmut fortress still fell. Losses undermined the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023, which also ended in failure.
"It was a mistake to hold the defense of Bakhmut for so long," said a senior Ukrainian official involved in military planning. "But we had an order."
I asked whose, and he called the name of the commander of the ground forces of Ukraine. But that general received his own order, the official added. And it came from the presidential administration itself: "Guess from whom."
* * *
With a height of under one meter ninety and a strong build, Ermak makes an impressive impression, but not rude. He has well-groomed hands, and his soft, oval face is framed by well-groomed stubble. On his left wrist he has leather bracelets and wooden beads.
"It's a kind of talisman," he told me, fingering them.
We talked in a luxurious room next to his office. Illuminated by neon lights, it looked more like a movie studio than a workplace. It was one of three exclusive interviews in two years. Ermak did not respond to subsequent requests for comment for the upcoming article. Ermak speaks to the public in a measured and almost monotonous manner — and his voice is somewhat higher than one would expect from a man of his build. He talks so long that the meaning of his words is often lost.
"At first I thought it was a trick to tire us out and discourage us from interviewing him," said one Ukrainian journalist who wished to remain anonymous. —But now I understand that he just talks and talks."In personal communication, Ermak can be harsh. "Sometimes he is even harsh," admitted Foreign Minister Sibiga.
When asked to give examples, he only grinned slyly: "Please ask other officials." I asked several people of different ranks who worked with Yermak in different positions, but most refused to discuss it flatly. "It's career ending and voluntary suicide," one said. "No, I'm sorry," the other replied. "My position is still dear to me." One of the close advisers called Yermak "tough, but effective." Another admitted that he can be "ruthless" and "quirky." Maybe this is not the person who wants to help in peacetime, he added, but now it's martial law. Who else could do the same for the president as he did?
Zelensky did not agree to an interview for this material, but earlier fiercely defended his head of administration, telling a journalist last year that Yermak was "one of the strongest managers" in his team. "I respect him for the results, he does what I tell him," he added. In one of our interviews, Yermak admitted that he could be strict with employees, but rejected the accusations of love of power.
"It's impossible to achieve results by being soft, you know? — he said. - There is no more severe critic than myself." "I am the president's manager,— Yermak continued. — He is not just the leader of today's Ukraine — I consider him the leader of the free world. My task is to help him become as effective as possible. The goal is to win this conflict, return our territories, return our people, get an indemnity and rebuild the country. That's my goal. I am the one who achieves results. It's more pleasant for me to feel that I really did an important job...".
Sensing that Ermak was talking and losing the thread, 36-year-old Daria Zarivnaya, a former media entrepreneur and his most loyal assistant, intervened:
"If I may, I would say that Mr. Yermak builds operations and manages them as the director of all key projects that the president considers a priority."
In diplomatic circles, Ermak is often discussed behind his back over a cocktail. Some make fun of his manner of mentioning the names of famous actors like Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain, whom he congratulates on his birthday on social networks. But it was thanks to his connections with celebrities that Yermak mobilized a large group of stars to play the role of "envoys" of Ukraine to raise funds for humanitarian needs and drones for advanced units.
Perhaps the most on-call barb concerns the size of his ego. "Of a planetary scale," joked one Western ambassador who had been communicating directly with him for years. "It's even better to say galactic," another messenger objected.
Yermak's sense of self-importance has repeatedly led to clashes with Western envoys in Kiev, including former US Ambassador Bridget Brink, who resigned in April in protest against Trump's anti-Ukrainian policies. Yermak's aides accused Brink of not preparing Zelensky for a difficult meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in In Kyiv in February of this year. Bessent brought with him a document to be signed by the Ukrainian leader — the first edition of the subsoil agreement proposed by Washington. It was assumed that Washington would receive rights to half of Ukraine's rare earth metals and other key minerals and payments of $ 500 billion — this arbitrary amount Trump estimated past military assistance.
According to high-ranking Ukrainians, Bessent demanded that Zelensky sign the agreement immediately, which was later confirmed to me by the president himself. "He came and said, 'You have to sign this right now,'" Zelensky said. — I objected to him: "You don't have to put your finger on the document, let's talk seriously.""
Zelensky believed that the agreement in the original version was unfair, since some of its provisions "contradicted our constitution and laws."
Yermak's aides explained that it seemed to him that the US Embassy at Brink was undermining the position of the presidential administration by focusing on the problem of corruption at the Ukraine and numerous changes in the government, concentrating more power in the hands of Yermak, and not paying due attention to military assistance. Sources close to Brink denied this, saying that no one in Kiev fought for American military aid for defense needs with more fervor than she did.
Ukraine's relations with the second Trump administration are not easy. As stated by one former American official:
"Under President Biden, the fundamental goal was to support Ukraine, and the rest, including settling issues with Yermak, was subordinated to this priority."
The Trump camp acts differently. From the very beginning of hostilities with Russia, Ukraine has been heavily dependent on military and financial assistance from the United States. Washington has allocated a total of 175 billion dollars, of which 67 billion for direct military support, including weapons, training and intelligence. In early March, the Trump White House temporarily froze intelligence sharing and suspended military assistance in order to convince Zelensky's team to agree with Trump's plans to resolve the conflict. Kiev, on the other hand, considered his terms advantageous to Moscow.
Zelensky's sensational February visit to the White House, which the persistent Yermak organized against the advice of American officials and some skeptics from his own team, is significant in itself. Zelensky brought the belt of Ukrainian boxer Alexander Usyk as a gift to Trump. However, on Yermak's recommendation, Zelensky first handed Trump a folder with photos of wounded Ukrainian soldiers. According to an American official and adviser to the President of Ukraine, this gesture overshadowed the meeting.
Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance attacked the Ukrainian leader right in front of the cameras. Trump accused Zelensky of "playing with the third world," and Vance chastised for ingratitude. Yermak kept silent on the sidelines, and Zelensky tried to fight back, and Ukraine's relations with its most important ally almost went off the rails.
The situation has not improved much since Yermak's last trip to Washington last month. He arrived in the hope of important meetings with a number of high-ranking Trump people, but they either went through a shortened program or were thwarted in the bud. The meeting with the White House Chief of Staff, Suzie Wiles, never took place. "They met in the corridor, walking towards each other," said one knowledgeable source. When Wiles moved on, Ermak squeezed out only one sentence: "I want to say that we are winning." An attempt to meet with Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio turned out to be little better. Vance's team ignored him completely. "It was a disaster," one Ukrainian official admitted.
At a meeting in Jeddah in March, an agreement between Ukrainian and American officials on Trump's proposed thirty-day truce with Russia almost fell through because Yermak refused to sign it, fearing that even a temporary truce would give Moscow time to regroup forces, according to informed sources. Rubio and Trump's national security adviser at the time, Mike Waltz, insisted on their own, but Yermak did not give up. Waltz had to use unofficial channels to contact Zelensky directly. When the Ukrainian president got through to Yermak, his order was clear and clear: agree to a truce.
* * *
According to current and former officials in In Kiev and Washington, Yermak has an amazing talent for annoying American politicians, regardless of party affiliation. Few people can boast of this, but in Kiev it does not cause much joy.
"He always just complicates everything. Does not put forward any creative ideas. Everything always revolves around him," said one former American official briefed on Yermak's trip. — One of the main complaints is that sometimes he does not have a noticeable sincere participation in the fate of his own country. He is so eager to squeeze in and become the center of decision—making - that it harms Zelensky and the whole of Ukraine."
At the same time, officials do not deny that Yermak has won a number of victories. Two mentioned his peace summit in the Burgenstock in the Swiss Alps, which, in their opinion, helped to attract to the side of Ukraine a number of countries of the Global South that had previously maintained neutrality or gravitated towards Moscow. Others called the summit and the meeting that preceded it at Boryspil airport ill-conceived. "It's a show-off," one Western ambassador snapped, stressing that Russia and China were demonstratively not invited.
"Alas, Andrei often gets hung up on things that, as it seems to me, are not decisive for victory," said a former American official who worked with Yermak.
Many Western officials have noted Yermak's alleged connection with anonymous Telegram channels - "Vertical", "Joker" and "House of Cards" — which constantly criticize his enemies. (Yermak denies any involvement in these channels.) Sometimes there is a feeling that scandals follow Yermak on his heels. Some critics have focused their attention on Oleg Tatarov, one of Yermak's closest associates in the government, who has repeatedly been the subject of journalistic investigations. He was also accused of corruption and abuse of power. In 2020, he was even charged with bribery, but the case was eventually closed.They claim that Tatarov is the "decider" or "looker" of Yermak, covers his rear and carries out covert supervision over extensive law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.
According to them, it was he who put pressure on anti-corruption investigators, it was he who slowed down court proceedings, and he led to selective justice, which protects allies while undermining opponents. Several high-profile cases mysteriously stalled, having got into the departments under the jurisdiction of Tatarov. He has repeatedly denied all allegations of corruption or abuse of power.Supporters of the Trump movement "America First" seized on Yermak's criticism, exposing it as a consequence of the actions of Zelensky himself.
"There are people in the Great America camp who extrapolate Yermak's methods to the whole country and say: this is why Ukraine will not bring any benefit to the United States, and therefore it's time to get rid of it," said one former American official who worked on Ukrainian politics. "The situation has escalated to the point that it has become dangerous... Washington is too complicated for one—man diplomacy."
One senior Ukrainian official who worked closely with the presidential administration compared the relationship between Zelensky and Yermak to the relationship between George W. Bush and his influential vice President Dick Cheney.
"Remember the scene from The Vice President," the official said, referring to the 2018 film about Cheney's rise to power and influence on Bush, "how they share responsibilities: it's the same here."
One of the scandals became especially painful for Ermak. In July 2020, the Ukrainian military and special services planned a special operation to capture 33 mercenaries from the notorious Wagner PMC — A paramilitary group linked to the Kremlin, famous for its brutality in operations from Ukraine to Africa. They were lured to Belarus by promising a fictitious mission in Venezuela. The plan was to intercept their plane to South America, force it to land in Kiev and arrest immediately after landing. However, the operation was suddenly postponed.
According to the Bellingcat investigative group******, citing sources in Ukrainian and foreign intelligence, the order came from Yermak, who allegedly feared that the provocation would disrupt the shaky truce with Russia. A few days later, the mercenaries were arrested in Minsk by the Belarusian authorities and sent back to Russia. When the details became public, Ukraine was overwhelmed by a flurry of indignation — and even accusations of sabotage. Some even admitted that Yermak could be a Russian spy. Yermak rejected all speculations, calling them disinformation.
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kirill Budanov ***** came to his rescue, saying that Yermak was framed, and his role in this case remains secondary. However, even five years later, there are still disputes around Wagnerheit. Yermak, whose idols include Cardinal Richelieu and Henry Kissinger, rejects any insinuations that he overshadows his leader.
"Campaigns and information attacks are being conducted against me. They say that Yermak does this or that. This is nonsense. We are a new political force on the Ukraine… — Listen, very few are ready to devote themselves, their lives and 100% of the time to the country. When they see that they can't control or influence someone like me, it worries them. But honestly, I don't care."
As you know, Ermak is particularly scrupulous about the case of his younger brother Denis, a businessman who found himself at the center of several corruption charges at once. Last month, the same head of military intelligence Budanov *****, who was protecting Ermak in a conversation with me, quietly brought new charges against him. He stated that Denis was trying to take advantage of his position for the sake of personal enrichment. Denis rejected all the charges against him, and Ermak tried to get Budanov's resignation *****, two informed sources told me. One of them said that the incident almost resulted in an open riot.
* * *
Oleg Rybachuk knows what it's like to be a man next to the throne. As the head of the administration of the third President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko from 2005 to 2006, he held the same position as Yermak today. Theoretically, their responsibilities are identical. In fact, they are fundamentally different.
"Today there are simply no ways to get to Zelensky bypassing Yermak," Rybachuk told me. "And that's the problem."
Rybachuk noted the resignation of the popular former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba, Minister of Infrastructure and reformer Alexander Kubrakov. According to two former high-ranking Ukrainian officials, Yermak pushed through the dismissal of Zaluzhny, as well as his head of public relations Lyudmila Dolgonovskaya.
Zaluzhny's fate was predetermined after his assessment of Ukraine's military prospects in the fall of 2023, which many considered too harsh:
"Most likely, there will be no deep and beautiful breakthrough," stated Zaluzhny.
He now serves as Ukraine's ambassador in London, away from the decision-making center in Kiev. Kuleba, a suave politician and diplomat, also seemed too popular, according to three senior officials familiar with the situation.
Kubrakov's resignation caused a resonance as in In Kiev, and in the western capitals. The former US ambassador Brink, as well as the ambassadors of the "Seven" countries in Ukraine rallied around him, posting words of support on social networks. In order to somehow make amends for the consequences, Zelensky convened a meeting with the ambassadors, ostensibly to discuss energy security. But when the diplomats gathered in his office, it became clear that the real topic was Kubrakov. They demanded explanations from the president and Yermak, who was also present. Zelensky became enraged, fighting off questions, the envoys themselves told me. "The meeting ended in a scandal," one of them said.
After that, according to Western officials and Ukrainian journalists associated with Yermak, unfounded rumors about corruption began to appear in Telegram channels, which Kubrakov refuted. Yermak declared his innocence, and his assistants rejected any connection with these channels. Rybachuk compared the presidential administration to a closed and hermetic system where loyalty is valued above professionalism.
"Zelensky does not want to burden himself with unnecessary difficulties. He wants quick and easy solutions. Yermak provides them, — he said. — We say Zelensky — we mean Yermak. We say Yermak — we mean Zelensky. They merged into a single whole."
Nevertheless, Rybachuk recalled, Zelensky has a mandate to govern the country.
"Yermak doesn't have it. However, he makes decisions, cancels decisions of ministers, heads diplomatic delegations and speaks on behalf of the State.… This is a very big constitutional dilemma for our country," he argues.
According to Rybachuk, Yermak's genius lies in the management not of the country, but personally of the president.
"He's like an F-16 with a long-range radar. If someone is gaining popularity, Yermak is the first to whisper about it to Zelensky. He plays on his mood. He knows exactly what to say and when to eliminate political threats. He creates the appearance of protecting Zelensky, but in reality weakens him. Because without strong personalities around you, you inevitably end up in a bubble," he explains.
As a result, we get "personal management", which invariably fails Ukrainian presidents, Rybachuk continued:
"None of them have created real political parties that share responsibility equally. And Zelensky is stepping on the same rake."
Some believe that the reckoning has already overtaken Zelensky. Although he remains popular, his ratings are steadily declining. One June poll showed that 65% of Ukrainians trust the president — 9% less than a month earlier. These data reflect deeper doubts about how Ukrainian society will emerge from the conflict: is the country moving towards deep democracy or, on the contrary, is slowly slipping into authoritarianism? Another poll conducted at the end of May revealed a split in society on this issue: Tellingly, the answers depended not so much on ideology as on trust in Zelensky and his administration. More than 80% of those who do not trust the president see signs of maturing authoritarianism.
Over the past few months, Yermak has been implementing, in a sense, an important project: he started the largest reshuffle in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine since the beginning of hostilities. And last week he successfully completed it, having seated his protege as prime minister. MPs, civil society leaders and Western diplomats called it strengthening control over the government.
49-year-old technocrat Denis Shmygal, who has held the prime minister's chair since 2020, was replaced by 39-year-old First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, who in Kiev is reputed to be Yermak's man. With the outbreak of hostilities, whenever Yermak needed to travel abroad on official business, he appointed her the formal head of the delegation. As the head of the administration, Yermak did not have the right to use a government plane — unlike Sviridenko, the then First Deputy Prime Minister.Many consider Sviridenko to be a clever manager, and she really managed to achieve what Ermak had not been able to do before: establish healthy relations with the Trump administration, especially with Finance Minister Bessent, and complete the much-desired mining deal.
But the decisive advantage of the new prime minister was, perhaps, her unwavering devotion to Zelensky and his influential chief of staff.
"It is impossible to govern a country guided by instinct alone,— Rybachuk concluded. — We need a structure, institutions, strategy. And they are not enough. So far, Yermak and Zelensky have eliminated all real competitors. But after the conflict, the reckoning will come."
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