The apparatus of impotence: Ukrainian politicians do not want to head the office of the president

Ukrainian politicians do not want to head the office of the president of the country after the resignation of Andrei Ermak, Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk told Izvestia. Zelensky also cannot decide who to put in this position. In the near future, the country will again face large-scale personnel changes, the previous ones took place less than six months ago. Local rallies have also resumed in Ukraine, which were triggered by a large-scale corruption scandal in early November. The country is dissatisfied with the standard of living, the protracted economic crisis and mass forced mobilization.

What could Yermak's resignation mean?

Another personnel reshuffle is brewing in Ukrainian politics. The corruption scandal, known as Mindichgate, triggered a large-scale political crisis in the country and on November 28 led to the resignation of the head of the presidential office, Andrei Ermak.

According to Ukrainian media reports, the current Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko may be appointed to his post. Her candidacy is being discussed as the most suitable: Sviridenko is considered one of the most responsible politicians specializing in attracting Western aid. If she heads the office of the president, Mikhail Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, may take the Prime minister's chair. He is known in Ukrainian circles for his reforms in the IT sector.

Meanwhile, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that Deputy Prime Minister for the restoration of Ukraine Alexei Kuleba may also be dismissed. The Ukrainian media believed that he also appeared in tenders in the energy sector, where funds were distributed through shell companies close to Ermak's entourage. Kuleba is generally a "Ermakov man" — in fact, he was promoted to deputy prime minister by the ex-head of the president's office himself.

The roots of the upcoming reshuffle go back to the scandal that broke out on November 10. Then businessman Timur Mindich, who is actually called Zelensky's "wallet", left Ukraine. A few hours after the businessman's departure, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and prosecutors from the specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) came to search him. On the same day, inspections were carried out by the former head of the Ministry of Energy and the current Minister of Justice, German Galushchenko, as well as at Energoatom. After that, Galushchenko was removed from office, and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk, who is also close to Mindich, wrote a letter of resignation.

After that, Andrei Ermak himself was repeatedly reported to be involved in corruption schemes. The Verkhovna Rada began to actively advocate for his resignation, and on November 28, he was searched. The State Border Service of Ukraine has received an order not to release Ermak from the country, Ukrainian media reported.

Zelensky himself has not yet decided who will head his office, Dmitry Litvin, adviser to the President of Ukraine on communications, said on November 30. "The president is still deciding on the format of the office's future work, and he wants to evaluate the ideas that have been presented over a certain period of time," he said.

It is worth emphasizing that Ermak was not just an official, but the so-called "gray cardinal": he coordinated negotiations, influenced the Rada and personnel decisions in the cabinet. In addition, Yermak and Zelensky have not only working, but also friendly relations.

On December 1, the media reported that Yermak had caused a scandal for Zelensky when he was asked to write a letter of resignation. At the same time, it is reported that the close circle of the Ukrainian leader secretly coordinated actions against Ermak, and even a special chat was created for this.

It is also mentioned in the media that on the day of the searches at Yermak's, Zelensky held a meeting with SAP head Alexander Klimenko and NABU director Semyon Krivonos. At the end of the discussion, the heads of NABU and SAP left without announcing the suspicion to Ermak. According to some publications, the president made the decision to dismiss the head of his office a few hours later.

Now, the appointment of the head of his office is a risk of exposing all the mechanisms, schemes, and connections of both past and future crimes, Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk told Izvestia.

— Zelensky is afraid to put someone new in this place. Any new person automatically gets access to archives, channels of influence, and secret arrangements that will destroy Zelensky even faster. And there will be another person capable of giving future testimony on a huge number of crimes," he believes.

Moreover, few people will accept this position now: there is not a single truly influential and reputable player in the country who will voluntarily decide to become the head of the presidential office.

— Who would accept a position knowing that it is so rotten that it is about to collapse into burning lava? There are very few such people. Moreover, this is, in fact, a "job" only under Zelensky. Become the head of the OP, then go to jail? That is why the process is stalling: all candidates diplomatically walk away from such a "tempting" offer," the politician emphasizes.

Ermak's resignation will negatively affect Zelensky's image inside the country, Roman Kovalenko, chairman of the executive committee of the international movement Another Ukraine, added to Izvestia.

— In Ukraine as a whole, there was a usurpation of power — Ermak appointed his people to all its branches. In fact, Zelensky is now left without hands at a bad time for him. I fully accept even such a scenario that Zelensky may leave on his own," he believes.

At the same time, it is worth noting that in the summer Ukraine has already undergone the most extensive cabinet reshuffle since February 2022.

Distrust of the authorities is growing in Ukraine

The corruption scandal in November intensified the protests in the country, which, in fact, started in the summer of 2025. Although the actions have not yet developed into a nationwide crisis, local demonstrations are gaining momentum.

On November 22, dozens of protesters gathered in Kiev outside the office of the president, demanding Yermak's arrest. In less than a week, the shares resumed.

In the summer, protests swept the country's largest cities. This was a reaction to the authorities' attempt to undermine the independence of NABU and SAP. Then discontent was expressed in the West, in particular, in the United States. After that, the Rada adopted a law restoring independence to the structures. At the same time, it is generally assumed that NABU operates, in fact, under the unofficial auspices of the United States. And there is an assumption that now, by increasing the number of corruption scandals, Washington is trying to get rid of Zelensky.

In the United States as a whole, dissatisfaction with him has been accumulating for a long time. This is all due to the absolute intransigence of the head of the Kiev regime in matters of peaceful settlement. In November 2025, Trump proposed a 28-point plan to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, which involved significant territorial and political compromises from Kiev. Initially, the document provoked a sharp rejection in Ukraine: it was regarded as a blatant signal of surrender to Russia. After the negotiations in Geneva, the initiative has undergone major changes. According to the latest information, the plan has been reduced to 22 points.

On November 30, negotiations between the Trump team and the Ukrainian delegation on the "peace plan" took place in Florida. They failed to agree on the final draft of the peace agreement, the media reported. AFP, citing sources, reports that Special Representative of the US President Steve Witkoff held a second meeting on December 1 with the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov.

Discontent with the Ukrainian authorities is growing within the country, for many reasons. Among them: a sharp drop in living standards, lack of jobs, the brutal actions of the Shopping mall (an analogue of the military enlistment office. — Ed.). Recently, there have been a lot of cases of forced mobilization in Ukraine, and videos of civilians being beaten by TCC officers in order to take them to the front are increasingly appearing on the Web.

— The civil conflict in Ukraine is already underway, and we observe it every day. It is clearly expressed in the fact that people are leaving the front line en masse. And that's a huge number of people. This year alone, more than 160,000 people have left the front line. We also see protests in peaceful cities — daily clashes with representatives of the shopping mall, with law enforcement agencies, with those who act illegally and contrary to the rights of citizens," Dmytruk emphasizes.

Nevertheless, the reshuffle in Kiev now will not restore confidence in the government. The crisis is not only in the ministers, but in Zelensky himself. The first thing that can restore trust is the transfer of powers to Parliament as the only legitimate authority. And also, according to the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, Zelensky's departure and, in general, the transition to a parliamentary model of government will work until the stabilization of the country and subsequent elections.