However, Andriy Yermak is not the only one the president decided to “shield” in this way.
Sources in the Presidential Office and law enforcement agencies told ZN.UA that after the tense crisis meeting in the president’s office in July – attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos, and SAPO Head Oleksandr Klymenko – several more non-public meetings took place.
According to these sources, during the most recent meeting the president was informed that materials were ready to issue notices of suspicion to the Head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, and to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov.
The issue, however, was not that anti-corruption leaders disclosed this information to the head of state but how he reacted to it.
Following that conversation, the president decided to appoint Yermak and Umerov as heads of Ukraine’s negotiating delegation.
On the other hand, after six years of a political style that has “burned out” nearly all professional and intellectual capacity, who else could be put in charge of the delegation if not those who enjoy the absolute trust of the president?
An indirect confirmation of NABU’s serious intentions regarding these officials is that yesterday (November 25) Rustem Umerov was summoned to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau for questioning.
It is worth noting that against the backdrop of “MindychiGate,” key members of the government advised the president to dismiss Andriy Yermak after the release of the Mindych–Halushchenko tapes.
According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, Yermak appears in the recordings under the codename “Ali Baba,” participated in meetings, and gave instructions on how to pressure NABU and SAPO.
Yermak himself insists that the corruption scandal was orchestrated by oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi, who has been held in the SSU detention facility for the past three years.
Meanwhile, Zhelezniak says that instead of dismissing Yermak, the President’s Office decided to focus on an information campaign about alleged coercion into the “Witkoff Plan” and counterattacks on NABU figures featured in the tapes.
As for Umerov, he also appeared in the large-scale energy corruption case. According to SAPO, he was influenced by Timur Mindych – a close friend of the president and organizer of the scheme. This is also stated in Mindych’s own notice of suspicion.
Did dismissing the head of the Presidential Office ever matter?
Why did the peace plan appear simultaneously with MindychGate?
How can Zelenskyy and Ukraine withstand external pressure from Putin and Trump?
And does the president understand that inside his own system – the one he refused to cleanse of corruption = a silent sabotage has already begun: “Akela has missed”?
Inna Vedernikova, ZN.UA
Tags: Andriy Yermak Mindich-gate NABU suspicion Political crisis 2025 Presidential Office Ukraine Rustem Umerov Ukraine Diplomacy Ukraine peace talks
