Ukraine: what next after Yermak resignation?
A key position has become vacant in Ukraine following Andriy Yermak's resignation. Zelensky's chief of staff stepped down after six years in office in connection with the corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector. His home was searched, but no charges have been brought against him so far. The media assess what the development means for the country and the negotiation process.
Blow to Zelensky's power
For Radio Kommersant FM, Yermak's departure significantly weakens the presidential power in Kyiv:
“The presidential office was so closely tied to Yermak that Zelensky will become a lame duck in his absence. It is unlikely that any of the candidates for the role of the new chief of staff will be able to bring the entire system of government under their control. This requires not only the trust of the president, but also the loyalty of the system itself. And the situation today is very different from the one in February 2020 [when Yermak took office], when Zelensky's popularity gave carte blanche to him and his chief of staff.”
Making way for a fresh-faced negotiator
The Daily Telegraph sees a positive side to the resignation:
“His exit looks like a tacit acknowledgement of how far we are from a workable ceasefire. Yet it may also be a silver lining: it could help repair Ukraine's fractious relationship with president Donald Trump's administration and pave the way for a pragmatic resolution of the war. ... Yermak's departure paves the way for more Trump-friendly figures to bolster their profile within Ukraine's negotiating team. ... A fresh-faced negotiator that lacks the baggage of hard-edged past statements could be willing to make the hard choices that are necessary for peace in Ukraine.”
Principles of good governance upheld
For Latvia's Avīze, Ukraine is responding as a model democratic state in this case:
“As far as 'Yermakgate' is concerned, shadows have been hanging over the Ukrainian chief of staff for a long time. So we can also assume that Zelensky had already braced himself to kiss goodbye – at least formally – to his most important team mate. ... Ukraine can now present itself as a prime example of a functioning democracy: with an official resigning when suspected of misconduct rather than waiting for a final judgement. Of course, we don't know whether the corruption runs ever deeper, but in this case at least, principles of good governance have been followed to the letter.”
A necessary sacrifice
Yermak's resignation was unavoidable, political scientist Ihar Tyshkevich comments in a post taken by NV from Facebook:
“Regardless of whether the former head of the president's office is guilty or not, he has become a necessary political sacrifice. Otherwise the US would have used this case to put the screws on Zelensky. And whatever the outcome of the negotiations and the timing of the ceasefire, the Ukrainian president would have lost his political future. ”
The timing couldn't be worse
Public-service radio station Český rozhlas notes:
“The escalating corruption scandals are hitting Volodymyr Zelensky at the worst possible time – in the middle of complex peace talks. Yermak himself was supposed to be leading the Ukrainian delegation in the US and negotiating with high-ranking US officials right now. Instead, he wants to take up arms, at least figuratively, as a kind of penance, and go where the country currently needs its men most - on the front line.”
President's downfall would be disastrous
The Tagesspiegel hopes that Zelensky will survive the scandal:
“A lot hangs on the question of whether Zelensky was aware of how far the swamp of corruption had seeped into his own circles. Because the fight against nepotism and the abuse of power - alongside the battle against the Russian invasion of course - is his brand essence and the great pledge that he made to his people. It was his cause long before he moved into the government quarter in Kyiv in 2019. ... So if this were to end in Zelensky falling, it would be a disaster. Because then, one of key objectives of Vladimir Putin's war – the replacement of the Ukrainian leadership – would have been achieved. Albeit it in a very different manner to that envisaged by the Kremlin.”
End of autocracy
In a Facebook post taken over from Espreso, political scientist Serhiy Taran notes:
“Yermak's resignation marks the end of an era of autocracy in Ukraine. It will mean the whole system changes. ... The president will most likely lose control of the parliament. ... And it will most certainly impact the structure of the government as a whole. ... The ironic thing is that this power restructuring could have taken place a year or even two years ago - in the form of a cross-party government with broad support. And it would only have been of benefit to the government, because a redistribution of power also means a sharing of responsibility. ... But no one wanted to share power.”
Pressure to make Zelensky comply
Radio Kommersant FM suspects the anti-corruption agency's actions are orchestrated by the US:
“Just the day before, Yermak had stated in an interview with journalist Simon Shuster of The Atlantic that Ukraine would never cede its territory in exchange for peace as long as – get this! – Zelensky remained in office as president. And the very next day they came to him. Everyone knows Ukraine is waiting for the US to present new peace proposals. It is very likely that pressure will once again be exerted on the Ukrainian head of state to at least soften his stance and make some concessions. Corruption allegations are known to be a more than convincing argument in difficult negotiations.”