The abrupt resignation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chief of staff Andriy Yermak was a "domestic issue related to internal policy" and not the investigations of corruption, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Olga Stefanishyna told Newsmax on Friday in an exclusive interview.
"So his resignation was filed as part of a domestic issues related to internal policy, not because some allegations were filed against him, but it is like part of domestic issues and domestic communication stuff," Stefanishyna told Newsmax National Security Correspondent Carla Babb in an exclusive interview Friday that aired in part on "Saturday Agenda."
"So I think that this is very important, and this is the bottom line."
Yermak, widely seen as Ukraine's second most powerful person and the top peace negotiator, stepped down after anti-corruption agents searched his home.
A major probe into high-level graft, at a time when Ukraine is fighting against Russia for its very survival, has sparked public outrage and thrust its leadership into crisis as Washington steps up pressure to reach a peace settlement with Russia.
"So the understanding of the president that is nothing more important than the peace process, than the ending of the war," Stefanishyna told Babb.
"So, the entire team around the president, including me, Secretary [of the National Secretary and Defense Council of Ukraine] Rustem Umerov, chief of military intelligence, all the rest of the delegations keep on working around the clock to secure the dynamics of the process."
On who would replace Yermak, Stefanishyna demurred and stressed the successor would not have the same levels of responsibility.
"I think Andriy had a very specific role," she said. "And the discussion around now is who will have the position of the chief of the office of the president of Ukraine, which does not mean that this person would be entitled to the same scope of functions Andriy was performing.
"So I cannot really comment a lot on that."
Yermak has been a close friend of Zelenskyy since the president's days as a TV comedian, and helped guide his successful outsider's campaign for election in 2019.
Since then, the 54-year-old has positioned himself as a chief decision maker, attracting criticism both at home and abroad as an unelected adviser with outsized power.
Yermak had confirmed his apartment was being searched and said he was cooperating.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office did not specify which investigation the searches were linked to.
The two agencies this month unveiled a sweeping probe into an alleged $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic energy company allegedly involving former senior officials and an ex-business partner of Zelenskyy's.
Yermak was not named as a suspect, but activists, opposition lawmakers, and even some in Zelenskyy's own Servant of the People party had called for his dismissal, saying his presence compromised Ukraine's bargaining power.
Mykyta Poturayev, a lawmaker for the party who had called for an overhaul of both the presidential office and the government, said Yermak's resignation came at a perilous moment but had been necessary.
"The potential dangers of Andriy Yermak remaining in his position outweighed these risks," he said.
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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