{"id":433,"date":"2025-11-29T12:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/?p=433"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T13:34:15","slug":"ukraines-yermak-gets-the-boot-how-western-media-reacted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/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&rsquo;s 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&rsquo;s leadership. <\/p>\n<p>Coverage described the moment as a <em>&ldquo;political earthquake,&rdquo;<\/em> a <em>&ldquo;massive crisis,&rdquo;<\/em> and a <em>&ldquo;tectonic shift&rdquo;<\/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 &lsquo;further weakened&rsquo; by power vacuum<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Financial Times warned that the resignation of Yermak <em>&ldquo;adds to trouble&rdquo;<\/em> for the <em>&ldquo;beleaguered&rdquo;<\/em> Ukrainian leader. The outlet described Yermak as a <em>&ldquo;powerful and polarising figure&rdquo;<\/em> whose departure <em>&ldquo;further weakens Zelensky at a pivotal moment.&rdquo;<\/em> Yermak&rsquo;s exit <em>&ldquo;deepens risks for Zelensky,&rdquo;<\/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: &lsquo;Perfect storm&rsquo; shakes Kiev amid US pressure<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>A report by Barak Ravid called the resignation <em>&ldquo;a political earthquake&rdquo;<\/em> in the middle of <em>&ldquo;frantic diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration&rdquo;<\/em> to push a peace deal to end the fighting. Citing senior Ukrainian sources, Axios reported that Yermak&rsquo;s resignation happened just one day before he was scheduled to fly to Miami for talks with President Trump&rsquo;s team. <\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;This is the perfect storm. There is a lot of uncertainty right now,&rdquo;<\/em> a Ukrainian official told Axios. The article noted that Yermak, <em>&ldquo;the most powerful political figure in Ukraine after Zelensky,&rdquo;<\/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>&ldquo;weaken Ukraine&rsquo;s negotiating position with Russia.&rdquo;<\/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.texasnano.org\/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: &lsquo;A massive moment&rsquo; 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&rsquo;s resignation, calling it <em>&ldquo;a massive, massive moment&rdquo;<\/em> for Zelensky and Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>Krupa noted that Yermak&rsquo;s resignation just hours after anti-corruption authorities raided his property <em>&ldquo;is clearly an attempt to quickly move past the controversy.&rdquo;<\/em> He stressed that the scandal hit at <em>&ldquo;probably the worst possible moment for Ukraine,&rdquo;<\/em> as the country faces mounting pressure from <em>&ldquo;allies and enemies alike.&rdquo;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\"><strong>Politico: Ex-comic Zelensky loses his &lsquo;producer&rsquo;<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Politico described Yermak&rsquo;s resignation as a <em>&ldquo;tectonic shift for Ukraine that sets the stage for a fierce battle over how the country is governed.&rdquo;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky <em>&ldquo;will be without his producer as he prepares for fraught negotiations with the U.S. over President Donald Trump&rsquo;s &lsquo;peace plan&rsquo; to end the conflict with Russia,&rdquo;<\/em> it wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The outlet recalled how Yermak, a <em>&ldquo;once little-known lawyer&rdquo;<\/em> and movie producer, came to be seen as <em>&ldquo;virtually a co-president&rdquo;<\/em> and noted that <em>&ldquo;many Ukrainian commentators cast Yermak as the producer in the ruling duopoly with the former TV comic-turned-president in the lead role.&rdquo;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;Zelensky 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,&rdquo;<\/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&rsquo;s departure as leaving Zelensky <em>&ldquo;deprived of his most important adviser at a critical moment.&rdquo;<\/em> Bloomberg said the resignation <em>&ldquo;comes just as Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to make concessions to Russia&rdquo;<\/em> and <em>&ldquo;as Zelensky&rsquo;s forces are facing shortages of weapons and funding.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><\/em>The article also noted <em>&ldquo;a wave of public outrage,&rdquo;<\/em> including from lawmakers in his ruling party, following the scandals.&rdquo;<\/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.texasnano.org\/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&rsquo;s leadership &lsquo;plunged into crisis&rsquo;<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Yermak&rsquo;s departure has <em>&ldquo;plunged Zelensky&rsquo;s leadership into crisis&rdquo;<\/em> and the scandal <em>&ldquo;could weaken Kiev&rsquo;s position&rdquo;<\/em> in international talks, Reuters wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The agency also reported that the fallout <em>&ldquo;comes at a time when Ukraine can least afford disunity&rdquo;<\/em> as internal pressure grows from both the opposition and members of Zelensky&rsquo;s own party. <\/p>\n<p>The timing of the scandal is especially damaging: <em>&ldquo;A major probe into high-level graft, at a time when Ukraine is fighting against Russia for its very survival, has sparked public outrage.&rdquo;<\/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 resigned as chief of staff to Ukraine&rsquo;s Vladimir Zelensky on Friday, after his home was raided by anti-corruption investigators in a widening $100 million graft probe. His exit has triggered&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/ukraines-yermak-gets-the-boot-how-western-media-reacted\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.texasnano.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}