Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ousted his top peace negotiator Friday after anti-corruption investigators raided the aide’s home. Andriy Yermak was Zelensky’s longtime chief of staff and considered the second-most-powerful man in Ukraine. He had served as the country’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the U.S. until the announcement by Zelesky in the early evening in Ukraine. The timing of his departure complicates Kyiv’s already shaky efforts to secure U.S. support for a peace deal with Russia which does not give away its land. Both of Ukraine’s two main anti-corruption agencies were involved in the raid on Yermak’s home, which comes after the organizations announced a joint investigation into an alleged kickback scheme surrounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure two weeks ago. Yermak wrote on Telegram that he was “fully cooperating” with authorities during the raid on his home. “The investigators are not encountering any obstacles. They have been given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are on site, interacting with law enforcement officials,” he wrote. Yermak’s replacement as the country’s top negotiator is unclear. Ukraine’s delegation to ongoing settlement talks will include the chief of the general staff, Major General Andrii Hnatov, and senior civilian officials. President Donald Trump gave up a Thanksgiving deadline for a peace deal amid the dramatic leak of a phonecall in which his peace envoy, his golf buddy Steve Witkoff, gave the Russian side tips on how to get into Trump’s graces.
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