Andriy Yermak runs Ukraine's presidential office and is in reality an unelected chief minister in all but name. He stands 1.85m tall. Before appearing as a junior aide to Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, he was known as a TV and film producer, a lawyer, an operative in the fashion industry and a fixer for kiosk businesses. His political rise has been meteoric and unexpected.
Multiple sources identify Yermak as instrumental in a June 2025 corruption charge against deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, the planned appointment of Yulia Svyrydenko as prime minister (an associate of his) and repeated attempts to remove spy chief Kyrylo Budanov. Officials say he controls roughly 85% of the information flowing to the president, creating a dangerous atmosphere of innuendo and conspiracy at the heart of government. Reports in Politico described bipartisan American despair at his lecturing approach to diplomacy. The White House has repeatedly warned against firing Budanov.
One former minister described Yermak and Zelensky as "alter egos", in effect running a joint presidency. His power does not seem warranted by his experience or his mandate as an unelected official.
In November 2025 a huge corruption scandal at Energoatom, the state nuclear company, precipitated Yermak's fall. He was not directly accused of involvement in the embezzlement, but he had alienated both friends and enemies by monopolising access to the president. He briefly staved off removal by taking charge of emergency peace talks in Geneva.
On November 28th 2025, after a raid by anti-corruption investigators, Yermak was forced out as presidential chief of staff, ending six years in which his oversize figure had dominated domestic politics. He denied any wrongdoing but may face charges. He told an American journalist that his next move might be to enlist as a soldier—signing up would preclude a criminal court case, say legal experts, though it would not stop an ongoing investigation. Two names were under consideration as successor: Mykhailo Fedorov, the 34-year-old deputy prime minister, and Denys Shmyhal, the 50-year-old defence minister and ex-prime minister.
Distress, n.: A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend.