Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the press about the conflict at the presidential palace in Kyiv on March 31, 2022. CHLOE SHARROCK/AGENCE MYOP FOR LE MONDE
He was nicknamed the "vice president," the president's "Mazarin" [a reference to the powerful 17th-century French cardinal] or even the "tsar." Now, Andriy Yermak reportedly appears under the code name "Ali Baba" in audio recordings that allowed Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators to expose a scandal that shook the government. This led to Yermak's dismissal on Friday, November 28. Zelensky is now pursuing crucial negotiations with Washington and Moscow alone, without this adviser, whom Time magazine named one of the 100 most influential people of 2024.
The president and his team have sought to project an image of control while playing down the event. Since his televised address on Friday, Zelensky has not said a word about the man with whom he has shared his days and nights, hopes, setbacks and political and diplomatic secrets since 2022. Hated by Ukrainians, Donald Trump's negotiators and Russian envoys alike, Yermak was more than just the head of the presidential administration. "They weren't just 'close,' they were two sides of the same coin," said a former minister, delighted by the dismissal and, like the rest of the country, waiting to see how Zelensky would recover.
