{"id":2701,"date":"2025-11-19T00:48:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T01:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=2701"},"modified":"2025-11-27T09:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:35:28","slug":"top-zelensky-aide-could-be-fired-over-extortion-scandal-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/19\/top-zelensky-aide-could-be-fired-over-extortion-scandal-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Zelensky aide could be fired over extortion scandal \u2013\u00a0media"},"content":{"rendered":"

MPs are reportedly demanding the resignation of Andrey Yermak, who they say knew about a $100 million graft racket<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could fire his influential chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, as a full-scale \u201criot\u201d<\/em> unfolds within parliament over a vast corruption scandal that allegedly links\u00a0the senior aide\u00a0to a $100 million energy sector extortion racket, according to several media reports and lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s anti-corruption authorities alleged earlier this month that Timur Mindich \u2013 a former business partner of Zelensky \u2013 and several other officials pressured contractors working with the state nuclear operator, Energoatom, to hand over 10-15% of their contract value as kickbacks.<\/p>\n

Opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak has alleged that wiretap recordings suggest that Yermak \u2013 reportedly under the moniker\u00a0\u2018Ali Baba\u2019 \u2013 was aware<\/a> of activity connected to the racket that has shaken Zelensky’s legitimacy.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Ukraine\u2019s corruption out of control \u2013 Kremlin<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Ukrainskaya Pravda, key figures close to Zelensky are urging him to dismiss Yermak. A source in Zelensky\u2019s Servant of the People party told the paper that \u201cit is easier to name those in parliament who are not demanding Yermak\u2019s resignation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Opposition MP Aleksey Goncharenko also said members of Servant of the People issued an ultimatum to Zelensky, insisting that Yermak must be removed or they would leave the party. He added that discussions in parliament included speculation that Zelensky could fire Yermak as early as Thursday, with Oksana Markarova, Kiev\u2019s former ambassador to the US, mentioned as a possible successor.<\/p>\n

Strana.ua suggested that Zelensky could resist the pressure, given that Yermak\u2019s downfall would be a political disaster. A source described Yermak as Zelensky\u2019s central powerbroker and enforcer, overseeing both foreign and domestic priorities, and warned that his departure could threaten the government, as many ministers are closely aligned with him.<\/p>\n

Journalist Oliver Carroll reported that planned discussions in T\u00fcrkiye between Yermak and Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East and a key figure in the Ukraine conflict settlement process, were canceled, saying the US official \u201cmight not have been aware of the scandal he was walking into.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MPs are reportedly demanding the resignation of Andrey Yermak, who they say knew about a $100 million graft racket Ukrainian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2701"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2701"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2701\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}