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Zelensky’s right-hand man How Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak redefined his post to become the country’s second most powerful figure

Source: Meduza

In the five years since Volodymyr Zelensky became president of Ukraine, former entertainment lawyer Andriy Yermak has built an impressive career. Less than a year after being appointed as a presidential aide, Yermak was named head of the Ukrainian President’s Office in February 2020, and he quickly became the country’s most powerful official after the president himself. In 2024, Time Magazine included Yermak (and not Zelensky) on its list of the world’s 100 most influential people. And during the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland last month, Yermak behaved like a full-fledged member of a ruling tandem. For Meduza, journalist and researcher Konstantin Skorkin explains how Yermak managed to amass so much influence in such a short period — and what could come next.

Andriy Yermak, like his boss, comes from the entertainment world. He began his career as a copyright lawyer, founding the firm that facilitated the first producer contract in modern Ukraine’s history. Yermak provided legal support for the Ukrainian branches of Hollywood studios and local media companies for years. Through this work, he first met Volodymyr Zelensky, who was then working as a producer for the TV network Inter. Yermak eventually entered show business himself, producing several movies and TV shows with support from the Ukrainian State Film Agency and foreign companies.

Though his direct political experience in these years was limited, Yermak already showed skill at negotiating with powerful people. In the early 2010s, his name became closely associated with Kyiv’s Sanahunt boutique, where many members of the Kyiv elite, including Zelensky, shopped. The restaurant attached to the boutique served as a frequent unofficial meeting place for influential figures in the city.

The relatively straightforward background of Ukraine’s top presidential aide has given rise to no shortage of conspiracy theories about him. For example, many Ukrainian ultranationalists, as well as some members of the Russian opposition, have accused Yermak of being an “agent of the Kremlin,” while the pro-Kremlin media has spread the idea that Yermak works for MI-6.

Zelensky’s ‘producer’

The position of the head of the Ukrainian president’s office was created in 1994 (under the name “head of the presidential administration”) and officially has no constitutional authority — though it does come with direct access to the president. For this reason, the Presidential Office building on Kyiv’s Bankovka Street has long been a symbol of unofficial power in Ukraine.

When Volodymyr Zelensky was first elected to the Ukrainian presidency in 2019, he was initially viewed with hostility by the country’s “old” elite, and in response, he surrounded himself with loyal supporters. The first head of the President’s Office under Zelensky was Andriy Bohdan, though his appointment was relatively short-lived: he proved too conflict-prone (especially with the press), boasted publicly about his influence on the president, and was seen as too close to billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.

After succeeding Bohdan in early 2020, Andriy Yermak initially kept a low profile, though he was always near the president. At the same time, with his background in show business, Yermak showed a keen understanding of the role of entertainment in modern politics, such as by using emojis (and sometimes nothing else) in his Telegram posts.

The Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources in the president’s circle, has likened Zelensky and Yermak’s relationship to that of an actor and producer — an arrangement they’re both familiar with from their previous careers. Yermak’s role as “producer” helps him wield influence behind the scenes, but it also constrains his power — a producer, after all, can’t replace an actor on the stage.

Zelensky, meanwhile, sees Yermak as a “powerful manager” whom he respects for his ability to deliver results. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Yermak found himself among Zelensky’s close circle of confidants who were constantly by the president’s side in the government bunker. This group appeared together in the now-famous video from February 25, 2022, when Zelensky addressed the world from besieged Kyiv.

At the same time, Zelensky insists that he remains in full control of his office and that Yermak merely carries out his instructions. “He does what I tell him to,” the president said in an interview earlier this month.

How did Yermak become so influential?

Yermak’s rise began before Russia’s full-scale invasion, and his early success on Zelensky’s team was largely due to his communication skills. In 2020, for example, he managed to establish contact with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Kozak, which briefly gave the impression that de-escalation between Moscow and Kyiv was possible.

Yermak also made a good impression in the West, where he helped craft a positive image of Zelensky. He played a major role in preparing the new president’s international visits (including, notably, the Paris Summit) and met with leading European experts at Chatham House in London. He also proved to be a skilled negotiator in domestic politics; for example, he helped temporarily reconcile Zelensky with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko after a clash between the two in 2020.

Yermak continued proving his talents as an effective communicator and a “powerful manager” after the full-scale war began. On the first day of the invasion, he contacted Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who had assumed the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Yermak also leveraged his international contacts to help form a global coalition in support of Ukraine, playing a pivotal role in convincing several leading Western celebrities to speak out in support of Ukraine.

Today, according to Ukrainian media manager Oleksandr Martynenko, who has been a consultant for almost every Ukrainian leader, Yermak is the person Zelensky listens to more than anyone else (on domestic issues, as well as personnel decisions and foreign policy).

Yermak has been behind virtually all of Ukraine’s foreign policy initiatives in recent years. In addition to playing a key role in developing the Kyiv Security Compact, which outlined international guarantees for Ukraine, he helped prepare the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland in June 2024 and has worked with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to draft sanctions.

Meanwhile, Yermak’s intense involvement in Ukraine’s foreign policy has significantly weakened the country’s Foreign Ministry. The Ukrainian outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia has reported that the president’s office bypasses the ministry to organize Zelensky’s meetings and that the authorities now see Ukrainian embassies as “Zelensky’s PR agencies and ticket-booking offices.”

Yermak is also highly influential in Zelensky’s personnel decisions: his appointees serve as deputies and advisors not just within the administration but also in the government and security agencies. For example, Yermak has been credited with appointing both Ukrainian Security Service head Vasyl Malyuk (who replaced Zelensky’s old friend Ivan Bakanov) and current National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko (whose predecessor had a complicated relationship with Yermak).

Friendship with Yermak generally serves as reliable protection from losing one’s job. His own deputy, Oleh Tatarov, has retained his position despite advocacy by multiple anti-corruption agencies and investigative journalists to prosecute him for bribery. Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov also enjoyed his post for a long time despite numerous corruption scandals within the ministry.

By spring 2024, Yermak had pushed nearly all of Zelensky’s old friends out of the president’s inner circle. However, his personnel policy appears to align with Zelensky’s own preferred approach: the president trusts individuals more than institutions, quickly becomes disillusioned with these individuals, and attempts to solve problems through reshuffles and personnel purges.

What’s next for Yermak?

At the start of the full-scale war, when President Zelensky’s approval ratings soared, his chief of staff’s did, too. The relationship has held steady as Zelensky’s popularity has slipped amid the protracted war and corruption scandals: survey results published in February 2024 found that 61 percent of respondents didn’t trust Yermak.

Yermak regularly faces fierce criticism from other Ukrainian politicians, but one of the highest-profile attacks against him came in July 2022, when Ukrainian-born U.S. Congresswoman Victoria Spartz accused the Ukrainian authorities of being unprepared for Russia’s invasion and called for Yermak’s resignation. Many other U.S. politicians from both parties defended Yermak; meanwhile, Dnipro politician Hennadii Korban, who Spartz had been in contact with, appears to have had his Ukrainian citizenship revoked by a decree from Zelensky.

Yermak’s seemingly unlimited power increasingly draws criticism within Ukraine and internationally; major Western outlets have published articles accusing him of usurping power. These allegations have resonated even more since May 20, 2024, when Zelensky’s five-year presidential term would have ended without Russia’s invasion. This change in rhetoric should set off alarm bells for Yermak and his boss; while attacks from their domestic opponents can be chalked up to political rivalry or scheming by their enemies, losing credibility in the West could have unpleasant repercussions.

What does the future hold for Yermak? As a powerful backroom player who has built his career on proximity to the president, he would be unlikely to make it as a public-facing politician; despite any ambitions, his success as the “producer” of a celebrity president doesn’t make him a star himself.

More likely, Yermak hopes to maintain the current tandem he’s a part of and to ensure Zelensky’s rule for as long as possible. One possible indication of this is that Yermak has been a firm proponent of restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders, a goal that appears likely to extend the war for years into the future (consequently delaying Ukraine’s next presidential election). “I’ll be honest: today, we’re thinking of nothing but how to bring victory nearer. […] Once we achieve that, we can turn our attention to politics,” Yermak said in a 2023 interview.

Another rumored possibility discussed in Ukrainian political circles is Yermak becoming prime minister, an appointment that would transform the government into an independent center of political power. The country’s current prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, a technocrat loyal to Zelensky who has held his post since March 2020, appears to have fallen out of favor with the president. Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported earlier this month that Zelensky is “tired” of Shmyhal and wants more “creative” solutions than the prime minister can provide.

However, it’s unlikely that Yermak would choose to trade his comfortable position in the president’s office for the prime minister’s seat. This position has traditionally served as a lightning rod for public discontent with the president in Ukraine, with leaders often shifting responsibility onto the government. It’s more likely that Yermak will try to appoint one of his people as prime minister soon. One potential candidate whose name has come up is First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

On the other hand, Yermak’s political future after the war is impossible to predict at this point. What’s certain is that he and Zelensky are closely intertwined and dependent on one another: the president relies on Yermak’s personnel policies and influence in foreign affairs, and Yermak depends on Zelensky’s popularity and political survival.