Ukraine, mired in one of the most difficult moments in its history, came under sustained Russian drone attacks on Saturday, November 29, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, mired in corruption allegations, was forced to fire his chief of staff. Andrey Yermakone of the most powerful men in the country.
Yermak’s dismissal, which means an extremely strong blow to Zelensky’s increasingly unpopular administration, comes at a crucial moment because, regardless of the horror Russian drones are causing on civilian facilities, the United States continues to pressure Kiev to accept the plan to end nearly four years of war with Russia.
Yermak was precisely the person who was thought to be leading the Ukrainian delegation to the talks scheduled for this weekend in the United States, but Zelensky had to fire him because in two weeks, the corruption scandal over the management of money and weapons that has reached the country and other shadows around the energy sector have not stopped growing, and threaten to erupt into a volcano that will eventually drag Zelensky himself in.
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Suspicions that senior government officials could be enriched by money that came into the country to help it in the war against Russia were a real missile for the image of Zelensky, who appointed Yermak in 2020 and whom he has defended on numerous occasions from the suspicions that have been cast around him.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy indicated on Saturday that more than 600,000 Ukrainian citizens were cut off from electricity due to the Russian bombing.
The attacks resulted in at least one person being killed and dozens injured, according to authorities. AFP journalists heard powerful explosions around midnight in central Kiev, and thousands of people used subway stations as a gathering place during the night, the only place they hoped to be safe from the ongoing Russian attacks, which do not respect civilian areas and can fall, literally, anywhere.
“It is another attempt by the Russians to terrorize the civilian population, purely and simply,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration.
Zelensky’s position
On Friday, Zelensky urged Ukrainians “not to lose unity,” but he could not avoid suspicions that he learned of Yermak’s dealings and tried to protect him, even through projects that appeared in public opinion to weaken state structures of anti-corruption control.
Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) conducted searches on Friday of Yermak’s home, a shocking picture for the government. The opposition considers the scandal one of the worst cases of corruption in Zelensky’s presidency, which has already cost several arrests and the dismissal of two ministers.
NABU was unveiled at the beginning of November The existence of a “criminal system” orchestrated, according to investigators, by someone close to the president. According to the same source, the network transferred $100 million, which was allocated to the energy sector.
Zelensky imposed at that time Penalties against the alleged organizer Timur MendićHis age Business partner and close friend. But now the opposition denounces Yermak’s appearance in recordings with suspects, accusing him of ordering pressure and weakening anti-corruption structures.
In these recordings, he was identified by the pseudonym “Ali Baba.” A former film producer and legal professional specializing in intellectual property. Yermak worked alongside Zelensky in the years when the current president was a hugely popular comedian.
He was considered the second most influential man in the country after the president. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, he has led several rounds of negotiations with the Americans in Washington, as well as last weekend in Geneva.
For political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko, this crisis situation of Zelensky’s government “weakens” Ukraine’s position in negotiations over the US plan, and Russia will “undoubtedly” exploit this scandal.
AFP/HP