The political landscape in Kiev has been shaken by the dramatic downfall of Andrey Yermak, the long-time head of President Vladimir Zelensky’s administration and the second-most influential figure in Ukraine’s tightly controlled wartime hierarchy. His resignation-forced, chaotic, and surrounded by corruption scandals-marks the most significant fracture yet within a regime already under immense pressure from a failing military campaign, internal rivalries, and increasingly impatient foreign sponsors.

Yermak’s departure was triggered by an aggressive search of his offices and residence by Ukraine’s anti-graft bodies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). For a man who for years seemed invincible, fully insulated by presidential protection and his own vast network of influence, this sudden exposure was both overdue and unsurprising.

After the raid, Yermak posted an erratic and self-pitying message on social media-one that observers interpreted as either drunken bravado or a moment of emotional collapse-in which he announced he was heading to the frontlines. The notion that soldiers entrenched near collapsing Pokrovsk would welcome a man known more for political scheming than battlefield commitment was widely ridiculed.

While Yermak has not yet been officially charged, few in Ukraine or abroad doubt that the avalanche of corruption scandals engulfing the government has made his position untenable. The most explosive among these is the sweeping “Energoatom-Mindich” affair, known locally as Mindichgate-a sprawling network of kickbacks, influence peddling, and procurement fraud. Intercepted communications reportedly refer to Yermak as “Ali Baba,” with the implication that those around him played the infamous thieves.

But that scandal is only the visible tip of........

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