The Fall of the “Green Cardinal”. Andrii Yermak's resignation shakes the circle of power in Kiev: “It was a desperate reaction to unbearable pressure”

The departure of Andrii Iermak from the position of chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an extremely influential position, represents a radical change for Ukraine, which prepares the ground for a bitter struggle regarding the way the country is governed, Politico comments, according to News.ro.

Nicknamed “The Green Cardinal” because he wore military-inspired outfits popularized by his boss, Iermak, a little-known lawyer and B-movie producer, came to wield immense influence as Zelenskiy's top adviser and was considered by many to be virtually a co-president.

Opposition politicians will use his departure, following a $100 million corruption scandal, to push their demand for a national unity government in Kiev, something they have been demanding since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, and Yermak's departure will embolden these factions.

And there is no doubt that Zelenski will miss the “former lawyer with steel character”. Many Ukrainian commentators consider Iermak the producer of the duo in power, with the former television comedian-turned-president in the lead role. Now Zelenskiy will be without his producer as he prepares for tense negotiations with the US over President Donald Trump's controversial “peace plan” as winter approaches and Kremlin forces seek to assert their advantage on the grim battlefields of Donbas.

“I didn't think it was possible for him to ever leave”

However, Iermak will not be mourned by many. His monopolization of power has attracted increasing criticism and frustration both in Ukraine and from Western allies, writes Politico. Unsurprisingly, Ukrainian opposition politicians and former officials who feuded with Yermak welcomed the news of his departure, saying they hoped it would mark a sea change in the way Zelenskiy governs and a move away from his tightly controlled style of governance.

“I didn't think it was possible for him to ever leave,” said a former senior Ukrainian official, who asked not to be identified so as “not to be seen as dancing on Yermak's grave.”

Yermak's critics also pointed to measures, ultimately abandoned by Zelenskiy in the summer, to limit the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, a step that initially exacerbated fears that the government was tightening its grip on institutions meant to check presidential power.

For opposition deputy Lesia Vasîlenko, Iermak's departure “proves that there is no tolerance for corruption and that the president listens to the concerns of the people”.

Others said his departure was a breath of fresh air.

But some opposition lawmakers have questioned whether Zelenskiy will use this moment to pursue a more inclusive policy.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klîmpuş-ţintadze told Politico that she is not sure that this drama will change the way Zelenski governs. “That is exactly the question. The mode of government must return to the Constitution. Parliament must regain its authority,” she said. “This means that the president must agree to talk with all the factions, we must review the relations in the parliament and form a real government of national unity, answerable to the parliament, not the presidency,” she added.

Iulia Mendel, a Ukrainian journalist and former adviser to Zelenskiy who has since become a critic, told Politico that Yermak's resignation was “a desperate reaction to unbearable pressure.”

“Zelensky has no real replacement ready because he never thought things would get this far. But the tension became so intense that it came down to the simplest choice: him or Yermak. And Zelensky chose himself,” she commented. But Mendel has some doubts that things will really change. “Iermak could only remain the puppeteer in the shadows,” warned the former councillor.