“I have options (for the position of head of the Presidential Office – PAP) with Minister Shmyhal or Minister Fedorov, but there is a challenge here because the Rada (Verkhovna Rada, i.e. parliament – PAP) has to dismiss them before new (ministers) are appointed. And I wouldn't want it to turn out like a game of Jenga: you pull out one block and everything falls apart,” Zelensky said on Monday, answering journalists' questions via WhatsApp.
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Who is the main candidate for the head of the President's Office?
What is the position of Denys Szmyhal?
Who resigned from the president's office?
What were the charges against Andriy Yermak?
Andriy Yermak resigned. “He was under investigation”
On November 28, Zelensky announced that the head of his office, Andriy Yermak, whose name appears in the investigation into the corruption scandal, resigned. He emphasized then that he accepted the resignation because “I don't want anyone to have any questions about Ukraine.”
Yermak was investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in connection with an investigation into corruption under the code name “Midas”. NABU and SAP (Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) conducted a search in Yermak's apartment.
According to the Ukrainska Pravda website, Yermak was personally involved in the preparation of the draft law on NABU, which appeared in July and caused mass protests in connection with attempts to limit the competences of this institution.
On November 10, NABU and SAP disclosed information about the participants in the extensive corruption system in the energy industry. They collected bribes ranging from 10 to 15 percent from contractors of Enerhoatom, the state operator of nuclear power plants. contract values. Illegal means were to be legalized by the so-called back office in the center of Kiev, through which – it was determined – approximately USD 100 million passed through.
Talks about Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky met with European leaders in London
On Monday in London, Zelensky held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Then, in the evening, the Ukrainian leader is to visit Brussels to meet with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council Antonio Costa and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The topic of all of Zelensky's talks are the US efforts to reach a peace agreement in Russia's war with Ukraine.
