Zelenskyy: It feels easier to liquidate President’s Office than replace Yermak
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the issue of appointing the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine is not a priority against the backdrop of issues related to the war, and joked that it is easier to liquidate the Office itself than to appoint its head.
"As for the reboot of the Office, again the question of the head of the Office, there are many such questions. Honestly, I will tell you frankly, today there are so many such questions, so many things, so many different proposals, an exchange of opinions! Honestly: the war is much more important. Therefore, there is a feeling that it is easier to liquidate the Office than to appoint a person," Zelenskyy said, answering journalists’ questions on WhatsApp on Tuesday.
As reported, on November 28, Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 868/2025 on the dismissal of Andriy Yermak from the position of head of the Office of the President, which he had held since February 11, 2020. Before that, National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted searches at Yermak’s house based on the decision of the investigating judge of the High Anti-corruption Court of Ukraine, but no one was served suspicion notices.
Later, the president reported that Zelensky was considering Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal or First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov for the position of Head of the Presidential Office, but there is a question of replacing them in their current positions. Zelenskyy also added that First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhiy Kyslytsia is very helpful in the negotiation track, but the president is not sure that he is ready to spend time on internal issues. Speaking about the candidacy of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, Zelensky noted that intelligence is an important direction.
In addition to Shmyhal, Fedorov, Kyslytsia and Budanov, sources called the current Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko a candidate for to replace Yermak.
