MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. The US is leveraging searches of the office of Vladimir Zelensky's chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, to send a clear message to Kiev that it is time to adjust its stance on the peace plan, the Strana news outlet reported.
The article notes that the searches at Yermak's office began on the eve of US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll's visit to Kiev. According to widely held views, he is expected to pressure Ukrainian authorities to agree to concessions on US President Donald Trump's peace plan, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass. The article also highlights Yermak's recent statements, in which he assured that, as long as Zelensky remains in charge, Ukraine will not make territorial compromises. For this reason, many Ukrainian politicians are linking Friday's searches to these developments. According to one version, Washington, through the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), is making it clear to Zelensky that the situation is serious and that he must reconsider his position on the peace plan.
According to another version, the searches are connected to the long-standing strategy of the "anti-Zelensky coalition" to strip the politician of real power and turn him into a "puppet" by depriving him of control over the parliamentary majority and government. One central element of this plan is the removal of Yermak.
Strana also cited recent rumors that Yermak was planning a countermeasure against the anti-corruption agencies with the support of government-controlled security forces. The news outlet believes today's actions by the agencies may be aimed at preempting such a scenario.
According to media reports, Zelensky appointed Yermak as head of the negotiating team to shield him. On Friday, Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko (listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist) reported that NABU was preparing to press charges against Yermak.
Searches at Yermak's residence
The first reports of searches at Yermak's residence came from lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak and the Ukrainskaya Pravda media outlet. The media published a photo showing about 10 NABU and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) officers passing through a checkpoint in Kiev's government quarter. Yermak's current location is unknown. Neither he nor Zelensky has commented.
On November 10, Ukraine’s NABU and SAPO announced a large-scale operation codenamed Midas to uncover a major corruption scheme in the energy sector. Searches were conducted at the home of Timur Mindich, often referred to as Zelensky’s "wallet," as well as at the residence of Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who previously served as Minister of Energy, and at the Energoatom company. NABU then began publishing excerpts from conversations recorded in Mindich’s apartment, discussing corruption schemes.
On November 11, NABU filed the first charges, including Mindich as the head of a criminal organization, and former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, a close associate of Zelensky. On the same day, the government prematurely dissolved the Energoatom supervisory board, and on November 12, the Verkhovna Rada received resignation letters from Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk. Mindich, Zelensky’s "wallet," left Ukraine a few hours before the searches for Israel. On November 17, reports emerged that Yermak may appear in NABU recordings under the pseudonym Ali Baba.
Trump's plan
The US had previously proposed a 28-point plan for resolving the Ukrainian conflict. The document was met with dissatisfaction by Kiev and its European partners, who sought substantial revisions. On November 23, the US and Ukraine held consultations in Geneva on the peace plan. According to RBC-Ukraine, the delegations agreed on most points, but several key issues were left for discussion at an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky. The date of this meeting has not yet been set. Trump later announced that the plan had been reduced from 28 to 22 points.