{"id":3963,"date":"2025-12-21T08:52:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=3963"},"modified":"2025-12-26T13:48:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:48:45","slug":"corruption-hit-aide-still-calling-shots-in-kiev-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/corruption-hit-aide-still-calling-shots-in-kiev-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Corruption-hit aide still calling shots in Kiev \u2013 media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrey Yermak, often described as a grey cardinal or even Ukraine\u2019s true ruler, resigned as chief of staff after anti-graft agencies raided his properties last month<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrey Yermak, who resigned as Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff following a major corruption<\/a>\u00a0scandal, \u201chas not gone anywhere\u201d<\/em> and continues to advise the Ukrainian leader, ZN.ua\u00a0reported on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Yermak was forced out of the administration after Ukraine\u2019s Western-backed anti-corruption agencies raided his properties last month as part of a probe into a $100 million graft scheme allegedly linked to Zelensky\u2019s inner circle and his former associate Timur Mindich. Multiple senior figures, including at least five MPs, have been implicated, while Yermak appeared in the wiretaps under the code name \u201cAli Baba.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to ZN.ua\u00a0sources, Yermak continues to speak with Zelensky daily by phone and meets him most evenings at his residence despite resigning. Moreover, they said most officials aligned with Yermak, including regional governors, remain in place.<\/p>\n

Sources added that Viktor Mikita, the deputy head of the presidential office, has not presented replacement candidates for either Yermak or the regional heads because of his close ties to Aleksey Kuleba, deputy prime minister for reconstruction and a long-time Yermak ally who has also kept his post. The absence of formal charges remains Zelensky\u2019s main reason for \u201cleaving Yermak\u2019s people alone,\u201d<\/em> they said.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Kremlin reacts to Zelensky\u2019s election claims<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYermak\u2019s resignation wasn\u2019t an epiphany but a forced act of self-preservation,\u201d<\/em> the outlet wrote, adding that the scandal has yet to bring structural changes to the Kiev leadership. \u201cInstead of real personnel decisions, for the third week now we\u2019ve been witnessing dummy interviews for chief-of-staff candidates.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Before losing his post, Yermak was widely seen as Ukraine\u2019s key powerbroker and often described as a grey cardinal or even the country\u2019s true ruler. The former official has denied corruption ties, saying he stepped down to avoid \u201ccreating problems\u201d<\/em> for Zelensky.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
The Oligarch: How one powerful man made Zelensky president, turned Ukraine into his pocket state and sent it to war<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The scandal has weakened Zelensky\u2019s standing both at home and abroad, with his approval rating plunging to 20.3%, according to a recent Info Sapiens poll. Amid the controversy and a renewed US peace<\/a>\u00a0push, President Donald Trump urged Zelensky to hold elections, which he had previously refused despite his term expiring last year, citing martial law.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said last week elections could take place but only under a ceasefire backed by Western security guarantees. Moscow, which has long labeled him illegitimate, dismissed the shift as a \u201cploy\u201d<\/em> to secure a ceasefire, arguing that anything short of a lasting settlement would allow Kiev to regroup and rearm with foreign support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrey Yermak, often described as a grey cardinal or even Ukraine\u2019s true ruler, resigned as chief of staff after anti-graft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3963"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3966,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions\/3966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}