Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, a close ally of the president who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at fraught US-backed peace talks, has resigned, hours after anti-corruption agents searched his home.
Mr Zelensky said Mr Yermak had resigned and that he would consider his replacement tomorrow.
Just last week, Mr Zelensky had named Yermak, 54, as Ukraine’s top negotiator in high-stakes talks to refine the US plan.
That was a vote of confidence amid growing pressure from opposition figures to remove his divisive chief of staff.
However, Mr Zelensky announced in a video address today: “The Office of the President of Ukraine will be reorganised. The head of the office, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation.”
Minutes later, Mr Zelensky signed a decree “to dismiss” Mr Yermak.
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies searched Mr Yermak’s home this morning. Mr Yermak said he was fully cooperating with the investigators.
Mr Yermak, who led Kyiv’s negotiating team trying to hash out terms after Washington presented a draft backing Russian demands, confirmed his apartment was being searched and said he was fully cooperating.
Watch: Zelensky says his chief of staff has resigned
In a joint statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the searches were “authorised” and linked to an unspecified investigation.
Earlier this month, the two anti-corruption agencies unveiled a sweeping investigation into an alleged $100m (€86m) kickback scheme at the state atomic energy company that ensnared former senior officials and an ex-business partner of Mr Zelensky.
Mr Yermak, 54, has been a close friend of Mr Zelensky since before the one-time sitcom star embarked on his political career, and helped guide his 2019 presidential campaign.
He has not been named a suspect, but opposition politicians and some members of Mr Zelensky’s own party had called for his dismissal in Ukraine’s worst wartime political crisis.
Today’s searches are likely to inflame tensions between Mr Zelensky and his political opponents as Kyiv faces mounting pressure to accept a peace deal that could force it into painful concessions.
In a statement today, the European Solidarity opposition party criticised Mr Yermak’s role as a negotiator and called on Mr Zelensky for “an honest dialogue” with other parties.
“The president should not limit himself to comfortable communication with his faction – he is obliged to explain to the entire parliament … what directives and ‘red lines’ were given to the Ukrainian negotiating team,” it said.
Andriy Yermak has been a close friend of Volodymyr Zelensky for many years
Ukraine in ‘deep political crisis’, says Kremlin
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the resignation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff had plunged the country into a deep political crisis.
“In Kyiv, events are taking place which reflect a deep political crisis provoked by corruption scandals,” TASS news agency said Peskov told reporters.
“I don’t think anyone needs at the moment to provide an answer to the question of what this will lead to in the end.”
The US-backed peace push comes as Russian forces grind forward along several parts of the sprawling front line.
Moscow says its troops are close to capturing the eastern city of Pokrovsk, which would be their biggest prize in nearly two years.
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said a 28-point US peace plan leaked last week could be “a basis for future agreements”.
He demanded Kyiv withdraw troops from eastern land it holds before Moscow stops fighting.
Speaking to The Atlantic magazine this week, Mr Yermak said “no one should count on us giving up territory”.
Political analyst Viktor Shlinchak, of the Kyiv-based Institute for World Politics, described the searches as a “Black Friday” for Mr Yermak and suggested Mr Zelensky may be forced to dismiss him.
“It looks like we may soon have a different head of the negotiating team,” he wrote on Facebook.