Week before his dismissal, Yermak wanted to secure Maliuk’s resignation, - media
A week before his dismissal from the OP, Andrii Yermak attempted to secure Vasyl Maliuk's resignation from his position as head of the SSU.
This is stated in the UP article, according to Censor.NET.
Searches at Yermak's residence
On the day of the investigative actions at Yermak's residence, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, SSU head Vasyl Maliuk, National Anti-Corruption Bureau director Semen Kryvonos, and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office head Oleksandr Klymenko arrived at the OP at 9 a.m.
"Incidentally, Maliuk's appearance at the meeting was not accidental. As UP managed to find out, Yermak spent the entire week before his dismissal trying to get the head of the SSU to resign because he allegedly "overlooked" Operation 'Midas' and failed to protect him," the publication writes.
The meeting was at least the third in recent weeks, the source said.
However, this time the heads of NABU and SAPO were accompanied by Maliuk and Fedorov.
"The discussion revolved around a dilemma that is further exacerbated by the contrasts of war: the fight against corruption must be uncompromising, but it must not destroy diplomatic opportunities that rely on the appearance of controllability.
Therefore, Zelenskyy's team wanted to find a solution in which the active phase of searches targeting the head of the OP would not be interpreted by international partners as a sign of chaos, which, in turn, would undermine the fragile balance of the peace dialogue.
The president listened to the arguments without his usual political armour and increasingly leaned towards the obvious: the state should not be subordinate to a personal fulcrum that, having absorbed excessive influence, has lost touch with reality," the article notes.
Who was in favour of Yermak's dismissal?
It is noted that over the past two weeks, the position on the need to dismiss the head of the Presidential Office was conveyed to the president by Mykhailo Fedorov, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Stefanchuk, Defence Minister Shmyhal and even Oleh Tatarov.
"Last week, the president seemed to have heard their arguments, but at the last moment, everything changed again. Yermak even headed a delegation for negotiations with American partners in Switzerland. After an hour of discussion in Zelenskyy's office, the heads of NABU and SAPO left the government quarter without announcing any suspicion against the head of the OP. The president took a break to consider the situation.
There was no contact with Yermak himself at that moment," the publication writes.
However, a few hours later, the president made the final decision to dismiss Yermak.
Yermak's dismissal
- On the morning of 28 November, the media reported that NABU and SAPO were conducting searches at Andrii Yermak's residence.
- NABU later officially confirmed the investigative actions.
- Yermak stated that there were no obstacles for the investigators.
- The media reported that the suspicion against Yermak may be related to the "Dynasty" cooperative.
- Later, Zelenskyy announced in an address to the nation that Andrii Yermak had submitted his resignation as head of the Presidential Office.
