Appointment for the position left vacant since the departure of Andry Yermak could happen soon
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the names of the candidates for the position of head of the Presidential Cabinet, after the dismissal of Andry Yermak, who had held the role since 2020. Yermak’s controversial departure took place on November 28, in the midst of a corruption scandal that affected figures close to the presidency’s inner circle.
Among the possible successors for the position are Denys Shmyhal, current Minister of Defense and previously the Prime Minister with the longest term since the start of the war, Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, Kyrylo Budanov, main head of the secret services, Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the Presidential Office and former commander, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, first deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and one of Ukraine’s main negotiators.
The list, which was obtained by , comes after a week in which Zelensky met, discreetly, with several names considered for the position, after having already announced an internal reorganization of the Presidential Cabinet following the investigation that led to Yermak’s departure.
“Over the last few days we have discussed the Cabinet’s work formats, as well as interaction with other state institutions. (…) A decision on the new head will be taken soon,” Zelensky said on December 4.
Questioned by the press in London on the day he met with Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, and Friedrich Merz, the Ukrainian head of state acknowledged that the choice is complex, especially because each name mentioned currently performs functions of high responsibility. “In any case, for some time, I will be able to manage myself, without a chief of staff”, he said on Sunday.
Appointed four years ago, Andry Yermak has become one of the most influential figures within the Ukrainian government. For years he was seen as the after of Volodymyr Zelensky. A lawyer and film producer by training, he came to power without prior political experience, but with something he considered even more valuable: the absolute trust of the president.
At 53 years old, Yermak is no longer Zelensky’s right-hand man, whom he met in 2010, after being involved in the corruption scandal that affected figures close to the presidency’s inner circle.
