{"id":3185,"date":"2025-11-29T12:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=3185"},"modified":"2025-12-05T13:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T13:48:14","slug":"ukraines-yermak-gets-the-boot-how-western-media-reacted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/ukraines-yermak-gets-the-boot-how-western-media-reacted\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Yermak gets the boot: How Western media reacted"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>An ever-widening scandal has toppled a Zelensky ally, with major news outlets describing the situation as a crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Andrey Yermak resigned as chief of staff to Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky on Friday, after his home was raided by anti-corruption investigators in a widening $100 million graft probe. His exit has triggered an avalanche of reactions from Western media, which widely portrayed the move as a blow to Zelensky\u2019s leadership. <\/p>\n<p>Coverage described the moment as a <em>\u201cpolitical earthquake,\u201d<\/em> a <em>\u201cmassive crisis,\u201d<\/em> and a <em>\u201ctectonic shift\u201d<\/em> for a government now facing pressure from the Trump administration, European backers, domestic critics, and a fatigued public.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Financial Times: Zelensky \u2018further weakened\u2019 by power vacuum<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Financial Times warned that the resignation of Yermak <em>\u201cadds to trouble\u201d<\/em> for the <em>\u201cbeleaguered\u201d<\/em> Ukrainian leader. The outlet described Yermak as a <em>\u201cpowerful and polarising figure\u201d<\/em> whose departure <em>\u201cfurther weakens Zelensky at a pivotal moment.\u201d<\/em> Yermak\u2019s exit <em>\u201cdeepens risks for Zelensky,\u201d<\/em> who had relied on his chief of staff to lead both conflict strategy and diplomacy, FT wrote.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Axios: \u2018Perfect storm\u2019 shakes Kiev amid US pressure<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>A report by Barak Ravid called the resignation <em>\u201ca political earthquake\u201d<\/em> in the middle of <em>\u201cfrantic diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration\u201d<\/em> to push a peace deal to end the fighting. Citing senior Ukrainian sources, Axios reported that Yermak\u2019s resignation happened just one day before he was scheduled to fly to Miami for talks with President Trump\u2019s team. <\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThis is the perfect storm. There is a lot of uncertainty right now,\u201d<\/em> a Ukrainian official told Axios. The article noted that Yermak, <em>\u201cthe most powerful political figure in Ukraine after Zelensky,\u201d<\/em> had been central to both domestic policy and diplomacy. <\/p>\n<p>The scandal is reportedly being seen by US officials as a factor that could <em>\u201cweaken Ukraine\u2019s negotiating position with Russia.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <img src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6929b4d2203027091f03ea26.jpg\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/628633-poland-ukrainian-corruption-concern\/\">Ukrainian corruption raids \u2018not good news for Western Europe\u2019 \u2013 Warsaw<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>The Guardian: \u2018A massive moment\u2019 as Zelensky scrambles<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Jakub Krupa, a British-Polish journalist and columnist at The Guardian, sharply criticized the timing and handling of Yermak\u2019s resignation, calling it <em>\u201ca massive, massive moment\u201d<\/em> for Zelensky and Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>Krupa noted that Yermak\u2019s resignation just hours after anti-corruption authorities raided his property <em>\u201cis clearly an attempt to quickly move past the controversy.\u201d<\/em> He stressed that the scandal hit at <em>\u201cprobably the worst possible moment for Ukraine,\u201d<\/em> as the country faces mounting pressure from <em>\u201callies and enemies alike.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Politico: Ex-comic Zelensky loses his \u2018producer\u2019<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Politico described Yermak\u2019s resignation as a <em>\u201ctectonic shift for Ukraine that sets the stage for a fierce battle over how the country is governed.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky <em>\u201cwill be without his producer as he prepares for fraught negotiations with the U.S. over President Donald Trump\u2019s \u2018peace plan\u2019 to end the conflict with Russia,\u201d<\/em> it wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The outlet recalled how Yermak, a <em>\u201conce little-known lawyer\u201d<\/em> and movie producer, came to be seen as <em>\u201cvirtually a co-president\u201d<\/em> and noted that <em>\u201cmany Ukrainian commentators cast Yermak as the producer in the ruling duopoly with the former TV comic-turned-president in the lead role.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cZelensky has no real replacement ready because he never thought things would go this far. But the heat got so intense that it boiled down to the simplest choice: him or Yermak. And Zelensky picked himself,\u201d<\/em> Politico wrote quoting Yulia Mendel, a former Zelensky aide-turned-critic.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Bloomberg: Zelensky left exposed as pressure mounts<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>The financial news agency described Yermak\u2019s departure as leaving Zelensky <em>\u201cdeprived of his most important adviser at a critical moment.\u201d<\/em> Bloomberg said the resignation <em>\u201ccomes just as Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to make concessions to Russia\u201d<\/em> and <em>\u201cas Zelensky\u2019s forces are facing shortages of weapons and funding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/em>The article also noted <em>\u201ca wave of public outrage,\u201d<\/em> including from lawmakers in his ruling party, following the scandals.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <img src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik speaks at an event in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, on November 18, 2025.\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/692a3de485f540046e34c5ff.jpg\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/628651-zelensky-fired-yermank-cover\/\">Zelensky fired chief of staff to hide own corruption \u2013 Russian diplomat<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Reuters: Zelensky\u2019s leadership \u2018plunged into crisis\u2019<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Yermak\u2019s departure has <em>\u201cplunged Zelensky\u2019s leadership into crisis\u201d<\/em> and the scandal <em>\u201ccould weaken Kiev\u2019s position\u201d<\/em> in international talks, Reuters wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The agency also reported that the fallout <em>\u201ccomes at a time when Ukraine can least afford disunity\u201d<\/em> as internal pressure grows from both the opposition and members of Zelensky\u2019s own party. <\/p>\n<p>The timing of the scandal is especially damaging: <em>\u201cA major probe into high-level graft, at a time when Ukraine is fighting against Russia for its very survival, has sparked public outrage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An ever-widening scandal has toppled a Zelensky ally, with major news outlets describing the situation as a crisis Andrey Yermak [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3187,"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\/3185"}],"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=3185"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3190,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185\/revisions\/3190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}