Without waiting for new results from the anti-corruption investigation, Zelenskyy dismissed his chief of staff Andriy Yermak before his term ended.

This can only mean one thing: the president’s situation is becoming catastrophic. As Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko told the Washington Post, for Zelenskyy it was like cutting off his own hand.
“It’s very painful –both physically and psychologically. Yermak was always by his side. But Zelenskyy is a quick learner. He’s adapting,” – Fesenko concluded.
However, no matter how good a political weathercock Zelensky may be, after the corruption scandal surrounding the Mindich case, Ukraine has been engulfed in a storm so powerful that it threatens to destroy the entire edifice of statehood he erected.
The correspondents of Wall Street Journal Deborah Acosta and Robbie Gramer reported that despite Yermak’s absence, the tone of the US-Ukrainian talks in Florida last Sunday was once again pretty harsh. The disgraced Yermak was replaced at the negotiations by the head of the Security Council Rustem Umerov, but this was of little help to Kyiv. Early elections and territorial exchanges were discussed at the talks, and, judging by the somber expressions on the Ukrainians’ faces, in most unpalatable terms for Zelenskyy’s team.
The correspondents of Telegraph James Rothwell and Susie Coen in this regard noted that Zelenskyy’s new negotiator is embroiled in the same corruption schemes as the dismissed Yermak. This decision merely demonstrates that Zelenskyy prioritizes personal loyalty over professionalism, precisely at a time when Ukraine can least afford such a luxury.
But under the current circumstances Zelenskyy cannot rely on career diplomats. The Politico columnist Veronika Melkozerova pointed out that Zelensky is haunted by the fear that the Americans have completely aligned themselves with the Russians and will entirely ignore his interests by further work on the peace plan. Thus, the task of Umerov, who has been caught in corruption, is not bringing peace to Ukraine, but looking for a place for Zelensky within it.
Journalist of The Times Dominic Hauschild explains that Zelenskyy’s primary goal now is survival. The Ukrainian president has been backed into a corner. Just a week ago at a meeting with the Servant of the People faction he decisively rejected MP Bezuhla’s demand for Yermak’s resignation. However, today, as Fesenko put it, he “personally cut off his own hand.” But Hauschild is confident that this will not be enough for either Ukrainian society or the opposition, particularly given the setbacks on the front lines and the loss of influence in the negotiation process.
Seeking for at least some guarantees for himself, Zelenskyy arrived in France on Monday for talks with Emmanuel Macron. However, neither handshakes nor grandiose statements in Paris will solve Kyiv’s main problems.
The Ukrainian Telegram channel «ZeRada» describes the current situation as follows: The US is clearly increasing pressure on the Ukrainian leadership, which requires Europe to demonstrate strategic clarity: either they are ready to continue supporting Ukraine without the US, or they are not ready and give the go-ahead to Trump’s plan.
The most sensitive issue here is finances. Negotiations on the use of frozen Russian assets in Europe were already difficult due to the legal issues. Agreeing on the seizure of sovereign state assets for the benefit of the world’s most notorious corrupt officials will be a virtually impossible task, as it would radically undermine the image of European financial institutions.
“This is what happens when the world funds a war based on emotion instead of reason. There was never a plan for victory, and there was never any accountability. Americans deserve leadership that protects their families, not signs the blank checks,” – Congressman Pat Harrigan wrote in response.
It’s no coincidence that NABU’s anti-corruption investigation was dubbed “Operation Midas”: now, everything the Ukrainian president touches inevitably turns to dust.