Ukraine’s Zelensky sacks powerful chief of staff after anti-graft raid on home

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announces the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the US, after Yermak’s residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government comes at a time when Kyiv is under intense US pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Yermak has been a trusted confidant of Zelensky’s for years, and the Ukrainian leader has long resisted pressure to replace him. His departure is a blow for the Ukrainian leader, who risks disrupting his negotiating strategy.

In a nod to likely controversy over Yermak’s long stay at his side, Zelensky says  Russia was waiting for Ukraine to make missteps and upset the delicate and tense peace negotiations.

“We don’t have a right to retreat or argue between ourselves. If we lose unity, we risk losing everything, ourselves, Ukraine, our future,” Zelensky says. “We must unite, we must hold on. We have no other choice. We won’t have another Ukraine.”

Yermak’s name did not appear on a list of officials that Zelensky says would make up the Ukrainian delegation for the next round of negotiations with the United States.