Zelensky's ex-chief of staff Yermak meets top officials, keeps his influence, investigation shows
Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky's former chief of staff, has met several top officials since his resignation in November, the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 6.
This may indicate that Yermak still keeps some political influence despite holding no office, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Some of the meetings could have been linked to Yermak's role in a corruption case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky's presidency, the news outlet reported.
Yermak did not respond to a request for comment.
He resigned on Nov. 28 following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier that day. Yermak is being investigated in the Energoatom case but has not been charged so far.
Eight suspects have been charged in the case, and Timur Mindich, a close associate of the president, is allegedly the ringleader. He fled to Israel in November.
Ukrainska Pravda filmed Yermak and Yevhen Korniychuk, Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, entering the same building in Kyiv on Jan. 15.
Korniychuk told the outlet that he used to be a partner of Yermak at a law firm but added he could neither confirm nor deny meeting him on Jan. 15.
On Jan. 25, Korniychuk and Yermak's lawyer Ihor Fomin flew from Chisinau to Tel Aviv, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Later Korniychuk drove Fomin in a Ukrainian embassy car to Herzliya, a suburb of Tel Aviv where Mindich lives, according to photographs published by Ukrainska Pravda.
Fomin met Israeli lawyer Boris Lemper, who allegedly provides legal services to Mindich, according to footage published by Ukrainska Pravda. Lemper did not respond to a request for comment.
Lemper has represented the interests of Russia's state-owned Channel One, Russian airline Aeroflot, the Russian Orthodox Church, and a firm run by Russia's presidential administration.
Fomin intended to persuade Mindich not to testify against Yermak in exchange for protection, Ukrainska Pravda's sources said.
Korniychuk told Ukrainska Pravda he was friends with Fomin and confirmed that he had flown with him to Israel. He denied knowing whom Fomin met in Israel.
Fomin told Ukrainska Pravda that he was acquainted with Lemper and confirmed that he visited Israel. He declined to comment on whom he met there.
Moreover, Yermak met Oleksandr Kamyshyn, an advisor to Zelensky on strategic issues, on Jan. 27. Ukrainska Pravda filmed Yermak and Kamyshyn entering the same building that day.
Kamyshyn, who was the minister for strategic industries from 2023 to 2024, advises Zelensky on the defense industry. He told Ukrainska Pravda that he could not recall what he had discussed with Yermak.
On Jan. 30, Yermak also met Rustem Umerov, current secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and former defense minister.
Ukrainska Pravda filmed Yermak's car entering and leaving the apartment building where Umerov lives.
Umerov confirmed meeting Yermak and told Ukrainska Pravda that they had discussed life, work and events in Ukraine. Umerov argued, however, that Yermak was not influencing his decisions.
Umerov is also being investigated in the Energoatom case and was interrogated by the NABU in November. He has not been charged yet.
According to the charges brought against Mindich, he committed his crimes by influencing Umerov and Herman Halushchenko, a former energy and justice minister. Mindich pressured Umerov to conclude a contract with an Israeli company for the supply of bulletproof vests, the charges state.
Yermak said after his resignation in November that he intended to go to the front line. The Defense Ministry said in January that he had not enlisted to serve in the army.
Ukrainian news outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnya reported in December, citing its sources, that Yermak continued to communicate with Zelensky regularly and kept his political influence.
