Is Andrey Ermak, the President’s chief assistant, manipulating power?

Andriy Yermak, a former lawyer and film producer who headed Volodymyr Zelensky's wartime presidential office, is arguably the most powerful chief of staff in Ukrainian history.

Siobhan O'Grady, David L. Stern, and Isabelle Khurshudyan write about this in .

If actor and comedian Vladimir Zelensky's main achievement when he was elected in 2019 was playing the president on television, then the highest qualification of his all-powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was that he was a friend of Zelensky.

The Head of the Office of the President, as Ermak's position is formally called, has always enjoyed enormous influence in Ukraine. Wartime conditions, including martial law, concentrated exclusive power in the presidential administration, making Yermak perhaps the most powerful chief of staff in the country's history—virtually indistinguishable from his boss.

Ermak and Zelensky so rarely appear without each other that Oleg Rybachuk, who served as the chief of staff of then-President Viktor Yushchenko, raised some questions: who is in command and are they even separate people?

“Ermak, unlike many of his predecessors, got there without any experience in government,” Rybachuk said. "He repeated this mantra from the very beginning: 'My only dream, my only ambition is to be the president's shadow, to be wherever the president wants me to be.'

“This is how he portrays himself,” Rybachuk added, “inseparable.”

Yermak's closeness to the president—and obvious influence over him—has sparked a flurry of accusations: that he undemocratically consolidated power in the presidential administration; oversaw an unnecessary purge of senior officials, including Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhny; limited access to Zelensky; and sought to personally control almost every major wartime decision.

However, the legitimacy of the president and his top adviser will now face even greater challenges as Zelensky's five-year term officially expires on May 20. The Ukrainian Constitution prohibits elections under martial law. But as long as Zelensky remains in office, he will be vulnerable to accusations that he used the war to undermine democracy - seizing control of the media, sidelining critics and rivals and elevating Yermak, his unelected friend, above the professional civil servants and diplomats.

Some of these accusations are undeniable. Under a decree issued by Zelensky shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022, six major television stations broadcast the same news content 24 hours a day, called the United News Telethon, which critics say has silenced dissent.

Any such accusations would likely be made by Russia, which has launched new military attacks in recent days and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine's territory. Such accusations from Moscow would be disingenuous, given that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly circumvented term limits to remain in power. But Russia has for decades tried to sow internal divisions in Ukraine to destabilize the country, and experts say the Kremlin will jump at the chance to exploit accusations that Zelensky is abusing power. And no one embodies the power of the Zelensky cabinet more than Ermak.

“The Russians will take advantage of this,” one longtime Ukrainian official said of Zelensky’s expiring term. To maintain legitimacy, Zelensky “must have credibility,” the official said, speaking like many others for this article on condition of anonymity to preserve political relationships and avoid retribution.

“His credibility is declining,” the official said, “because Ermak’s actions constantly reflect on the president.”

In interviews with more than a dozen current and former Ukrainian officials and lawmakers, foreign diplomats and others who know or work with Yermak, even his supporters acknowledged that he has unusually broad powers over governance and external communications. Some say he even controls which officials are allowed to travel abroad and when, a detail his office declined to comment on.

Critics say that recently, as Zelensky's circle of advisers has narrowed, Yermak has sidelined the Foreign Ministry, interfered in military decisions and brokered key deals with partners including the United States - a task they believe should be addressed president.

Some Ukrainian and Western officials say suspicions about the president's closest aide undermine Zelensky's authority and raise doubts about who is responsible for decisions: Zelensky or his appointed deputy, who often tweets with emojis.

Some officials refused to talk about Ermak at all, fearing consequences.

Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia who co-chairs the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions with Yermak, said Yermak wears many hats.

“In some ways he is the de facto prime minister, foreign minister and chief of staff,” McFaul said. “I know how everyone complains about Ermak. … But I would say that the other side is war. And I think he's damn effective at his job."

No political experience

Former lawyer and film producer Ermak, like Zelensky, had no training to govern a country, let alone a country that they are trying to destroy. And yet he does it. Ermak, once seen as Zelensky's shadow, is now seen as part of the ruling duopoly.

Even Ermak admits that many simply do not want his presence.

“Why is this Ermak here again? For what? he said in a recent interview, echoing his critics. His slightly irritated response: “I work,” he insists, “on behalf of... the president.”

Ermak's critics describe him as irritable and overbearing. Some accuse him of being a Russian agent (now a common insult in Ukraine), which he and his family vehemently deny.

Ermak, 52, six years older than Zelensky, was born and raised in Kyiv to a Ukrainian father and a Russian-born mother from St. Petersburg. He partially defends this fact by showing a photo of her with a blue and yellow Ukrainian trident tattoo on her forearm. She made it for her 77th birthday. His father held a high-ranking position at the Soviet embassy in Kabul, fueling rumors that his family had ties to Russia and its security services.

Yermak has a brother, Denis, 45, who is accused of being caught on video trying to use his family connections to sell positions in the Zelensky administration. Later, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine quietly closed the case, and Ermak said that the whole unpleasant story was an “information operation” against his brother, who is now serving in the Ukrainian army.

“Nobody likes to mention it,” he said of his brother’s role on the front lines.

Ermak’s department did not name his brother’s specific brigade, but said that he serves in a detachment with foreign volunteers, “which takes an active part in hostilities.”

Ermak received a master's degree in law from Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National University and worked as an entertainment lawyer and film producer. He said he rejected political proposals before Zelensky came to power because he never believed in “men in gray suits.” Even now, he has declared, “I’m not thinking about my political future,” a claim his critics dispute.

He said he doesn't remember when he met Zelensky, but they have been friends for about 15 years. Zelensky invited other friends from his film production company to join him in politics, including Sergei Trofimov, who served as deputy head of the presidential administration; Ivan Bakanov, who was the head of the Security Service of Ukraine; and Sergei Shefir, assistant to the president.

All of them were fired after 2022 in what many call a purge led by Ermak. “I’m sad what it’s come to,” one former official said.

Regardless of whether Yermak planned it or not, Zaluzhny - a very popular general who was considered the strongest political threat to Zelensky in any election campaign - was removed from his post and appointed ambassador to the UK.

“The president has no entourage. There is one person who influences the president’s decisions,” said the long-serving Ukrainian official. - There is no one else.

“Ermak’s influence is monopoly,” the official added, calling it a “tragedy.”

Chief diplomat?

On an early April day, Ermak, tall and broad-shouldered, with short brown hair, dressed, as usual, entirely in army green, burst into the presidential administration conference room.

The assistant had carefully prepared his place at the head of the table with a notepad, a pencil, a glass, and two bottles of water—one with a clear cap, suggesting still water, and the other green, suggesting sparkling water, but otherwise without label. Ermak ignored his seat and plopped down between two Washington Post journalists.

One reporter, pointing to the unusual bottles, asked Ermak if he was afraid of being poisoned.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” he replied, grabbing one of the reporters’ already opened bottles and taking a sip. (He later suggested that he was probably Russia's third most popular assassination target, after Zelensky and the head of Ukraine's Security Service.)

Ermak was smiling and cheerful. The day before, President Biden signed a long-awaited $61 billion aid package for Ukraine.

Ermak has direct connections with the most influential people in Washington, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “We check the situation on a very regular basis,” Sullivan said of Ermak during a visit to Kyiv in March. Sullivan's office did not respond to multiple requests for further comment.

Ermak has built a global portfolio, serving as a key liaison for many foreign officials. He denies attacking the foreign secretary's interests, but also says the war has shown him that "classical diplomacy may be coming to an end" and "some of our ambassadors are not working hard enough."

According to him, before the invasion he was a film buff and always recommended films to friends. Now he doesn't have time for that: he works at least 19 hours a day and often wakes up several times at night to check his phone.

Engaging the Global South

The next challenge is to organize a new round of unilateral peace talks for Ukraine, this time in Switzerland in June. Russia is not invited, and Ukraine's 10-point peace formula contains no territorial concessions, making it unfavorable for Moscow.

Still, Yermak is focused on luring potential partners in the Global South away from Russia—a task he says is long overdue, ongoing and “not easy.” Last year, he succeeded in bringing China to the negotiating table in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At least 50 countries are expected to attend the meeting in Geneva.

“You want people who can get things done and you know they are 100 percent loyal to you,” McFaul said. “This is the role Ermak plays for President Zelensky.”

One aid compared Yermak to the country's chief executive officer and said his effectiveness had earned Zelensky's trust. “The President can be confident,” the aide said, “that if there is a certain task, he will simply complete it.” Another said that Ermak taught his team to make any decision in less than a minute.

Apparently, as long as Zelensky is in power, Ermak will also be in power.

“They run the country,” said one foreign diplomat, calling Zelensky a “good cop” and Yermak a “bad cop.”

“He’s not just pretending to be bad,” the diplomat said. “He has real power and micromanages many, many things.”

Ermak, according to another diplomat, is “both the gatekeeper who controls access and the eminence grise.”

Ermak speaks glowingly of Zelensky, praising his intelligence and diplomatic skills. He denied that anyone other than Zelensky was in power.

“He listens to everyone,” Ermak said. “But he decides for himself.”