The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak is no longer as popular in Washington as he was a year ago, Politico claims. If this particular information provided by Politico’s sources is correct, there is good reason to believe that an important era is coming to an end – a half-decade-long period in Ukraine’s history with foreign relations marked by this influential figure during Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine.
If we accept the hypothesis that Yermak is gradually being sidelined from US-Ukrainian relations both in the field of diplomacy and security policy, slowly losing his former decisive influence on these areas, two questions should be asked.
•First, when will the same developments take place in EU-Ukraine relations?
•Second, does eventually Mr Yermak intend to concentrate on domestic politics and strengthen his influence in Ukraine?
The first question cannot yet be answered with certainty, given Mr Yermak’s considerable support across Europe.
Considering the second question, the likelihood of Yermak moving to Ukrainian domestic politics out of necessity is very high. This opinion is backed up by the fact that The Economist sees him as the initiator of an upcoming government reshuffle in Ukraine and related personnel changes.
According to the British paper, he may be behind a series of possible personnel changes in the Ukrainian government in the near future. The Economist writes that, alongside efforts to replace Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, personnel changes are planned in the ministries of education, health, culture, social policy and possibly finance. The Economist also states that Yermak controls a significant part of information flows to President Zelenskyy, which fosters an atmosphere of rumours and conspiracies in power circles.
The Economist’s journalists report that Yermak plays a key role in attempts to remove a number of high-ranking officials and promote people loyal to him. This particularly concerns a corruption case against Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, the possible replacement of PM Shmyhal with Economy Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko and repeated attempts – for the ninth time! – to remove the head of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov. The Economist claims that, repeated warnings from the White House not to fire Budanov may have played a role in his remaining in office, at least for now.
Interestingly, almost at the same time when The Economist published its article, Politico also published a material dedicated to Yermak. In the article ’Washington has had it with Andriy Yermak’, Politico writes that Yermak has been a particularly frustrating interlocutor for the Trump administration.
’Yermak has made regular trips to Washington since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has acted as an intermediary to Ukraine’s president. But many in Washington have found Yermak to be uninformed about U.S. politics, abrasive and overly demanding with U.S. officials – and generally unable to navigate the inner workings of the Washington establishment on Capitol Hill.’, Politico reports.
Biden administration officials were also frustrated by Yermak, Politico claims. People familiar with Kyiv’s relationship with its most important partner characterized Yermak’s interactions with both administrations as tense and difficult.
People familiar with the U.S.-Ukraine relationship and Kyiv’s backers in Washington fear that the friction wrought by Yermak could quickly spread to undermine his country’s standing with its most vital partner. Andriy Yermak is exasperating the Trump administration – POLITICO
Politico had already analysed the partnership between President Zelenskyy and Yermak in another article back in May. This report suggested that the two share a near-telepathic connection adding that Yermak as a brilliant psychologist understands what Zelenskyy wants and provides him with ready-made solutions. In addition, he is constantly controlling the environment around the president. The publication also noted that Yermak had surrounded himself with loyal advisers indebted to him. Some of these individuals have been linked to corruption cases which were allegedly closed.
If Yermak really quits foreign diplomacy, barely anyone will feel sorry to see him step down. Subsequently, such a change would also open a new page in Ukraine’s foreign relations. The only thing left for us is to wait the EU leadership to understand that the end of the Yermak era is close.
administrations as tense and difficult.
People familiar with the U.S.-Ukraine relationship and Kyiv’s backers in Washington fear that the friction wrought by Yermak could quickly spread to undermine his country’s standing with its most vital partner. Andriy Yermak is exasperating the Trump administration – POLITICO
Politico had already analysed the partnership between President Zelenskyy and Yermak in another article back in May. This report suggested that the two share a near-telepathic connection adding that Yermak as a brilliant psychologist understands what Zelenskyy wants and provides him with ready-made solutions. In addition, he is constantly controlling the environment around the president. The publication also noted that Yermak had surrounded himself with loyal advisers indebted to him. Some of these individuals have been linked to corruption cases which were allegedly closed.
If Yermak really quits foreign diplomacy, barely anyone will feel sorry to see him step down. Subsequently, such a change would also open a new page in Ukraine’s foreign relations. The only thing left for us is to wait the EU leadership to understand that the end of the Yermak era is close.
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