Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday evening that his powerful and polarizing chief of staff Andriy Yermak had resigned from his post after anti-corruption officials raided his home and offices earlier in the day.
In an evening address, Zelensky said Yermak had “written a letter of resignation” and added that he was “grateful to Andriy for always presenting the Ukrainian position in the negotiations exactly as it should be.”
But the president said Ukraine needed “unity” now, adding that “there should be no reason to be distracted by anything other than defending Ukraine.”
About a dozen officers from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) carried out the search before dawn in Kiev’s highly secure government district, authorities said in a joint statement.
The development is likely to further weaken Zelensky at a crucial moment Ukraineas he seeks to reassure Western partners that he is rooting out deep-rooted corruption.
In addition, US President Donald Trump is putting renewed pressure on Kiev to agree to a peace agreement.
The raid follows other searches related to a major corruption investigation called “Operation Midas” that has implicated Zelensky’s cabinet, toppled several senior government officials and led to an arrest warrant for the president’s former business partner, who fled the country.
The case has heightened concerns among Kiev’s Western allies about ongoing corruption as Ukraine continues to seek significant financial and military support.
This is a developing story