The abrupt resignation of Andriy Yermak, once considered the most indispensable figure in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's inner circle, marks the most serious rupture in Ukraine's wartime political architecture since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Yermak's departure, coming amid escalating corruption allegations and two anti-corruption agencies raiding his private quarters, has sent tremors through Kyiv's fragile governance structure and raised urgent questions about whether the country's painstakingly negotiated peace framework can survive without its chief architect.
Yermak has resigned but denies any involvement in a growing scandal tied to a $100 million money-laundering scheme at Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom.
The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) revealed details Nov. 10, describing the scheme that involved as many as eight, including some with ties to Zelenskyy.
No evidence has been provided to Zelenskyy or Yermak on the alleged money-laundering and bribery scheme.
For years, Yermak served as Zelenskyy's closest adviser — part strategist, part negotiator, and often the de facto envoy for Ukraine's most sensitive diplomatic missions.
His exit comes at a moment when momentum had begun to build around what insiders dubbed the "28-Point Framework," a comprehensive outline apparently written by Russia that laid out Moscow's vision of a peace deal.
While the deal drew strong criticism across Europe and even among Republicans in Congress, Yermak led Ukraine's delegation to Geneva, where negotiators said the two sides had quietly edged closer to a preliminary understanding.
"His presence was the reason talks hadn't collapsed entirely," said one Western diplomat briefed on the discussions. "He carried Zelenskyy's authority into the room in a way no one else could."
Yermak's resignation leaves a vacuum difficult for Kyiv to fill.
Within the Presidential Office, he was widely viewed as the only official capable of navigating the dual pressures of international diplomacy and Ukraine's increasingly complex internal political landscape.
His allies argue that the charges of corruption — still unproven and not publicly detailed — are the latest in a long line of politically motivated attempts to undermine Zelenskyy's negotiating team.
Critics, however, say the anti-corruption probes reflect deepening anxiety within Ukraine's institutions about accountability, governance, and the concentration of power.
"Even those who disagreed with him recognized that Yermak was one of the few figures who could balance wartime necessity with diplomatic pragmatism," noted a senior member of Ukraine's parliament.
The Geneva track was already under strain.
Despite incremental progress, Russian negotiators had shown little willingness to concede meaningful security guarantees, while Kyiv remained staunchly opposed to territorial concessions or reductions in its armed forces.
Yet diplomats involved in the process say the very existence of a dialogue channel — however tenuous — rested heavily on Yermak's authority.
"No one else had the trust of Zelenskyy, the respect of Western partners, and the stamina to endure the grind of these talks," another person familiar with the negotiations said. "His removal shifts the internal balance in Kyiv, and Moscow will interpret that shift as weakness or disarray."
Absent Yermak, Ukraine's negotiating posture might undergo recalibration — possibly hardening to avoid the appearance of capitulation, or conversely, becoming more susceptible to external pressure.
Members of Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party have already begun framing the allegations against Yermak as part of a broader struggle over influence within Ukraine's institutions.
Several lawmakers claim the anti-corruption unit pursuing the case received substantial support from what they describe as "left-leaning USAID-aligned actors" during the Biden administration, and that its leadership now appears connected to networks linked to billionaire Igor Kolomoisky, who faces criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions.
Kolomoisky was detained in Ukraine in September 2023 on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering and remains in custody.
Allegations about Kolomoisky underscore the increasingly fractious political environment in Kyiv, where questions of sovereignty, Western influence, oligarchic power, and wartime governance are becoming intertwined.
One party member, speaking on background to avoid reprisal, said the timing appears "too convenient to be coincidence," adding, "You don't take down the president's chief negotiator unless someone wants the negotiations controlled — or stalled — by other hands."
Zelenskyy has not publicly accused foreign actors or oligarchic factions of engineering Yermak's downfall.
Yet sources close to the administration say the president believes the campaign against his chief adviser might be part of a broader attempt to force Kyiv toward a peace settlement prematurely.
"Removing Yermak from the process is like removing the keystone from an arch," a senior Ukrainian official said.
"The whole structure becomes unstable. And instability increases pressure on Zelenskyy to sign something — anything."
Such pressure is likely to intensify.
The Trump administration, facing mounting domestic weariness with the war, has signaled a desire for diplomatic progress — even if that means pushing Kyiv toward compromises it has long resisted.
Moscow, sensing the political fissures in Ukraine, might exploit the moment to demand greater concessions.
If the 28-point framework collapses, it will not be due only to battlefield realities or geopolitical maneuvering, but also to internal political turbulence that Kyiv has struggled to contain during wartime.
As one diplomat put it: "Yermak understood the stakes better than anyone. Losing him doesn't just slow down the peace process — it may fundamentally alter its trajectory."
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