Ukraine corruption scandal threatens Zelenskyy’s special relationship with top aide

Police raid at the home of Kyiv's main peace negotiator is causing shock waves across Ukraine's political scene

The revelations that anti-corruption police are searching the property of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, could have huge repercussions for the Ukrainian political scene and possibly for peace negotiations as well.

It is hard to overstate the significance of Yermak in the Ukrainian political system. He combines multiple roles for Zelenskyy: most trusted sounding board, domestic political enforcer, controller of access to the president, main point of contact for foreign politicians and chief peace negotiator. Yermak is such a powerful chief of staff that people who know how the president's office operates describe his relationship with Zelenskyy as symbiotic.