Andrey Ermak has become the focus of Western media attention. And here's why

The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, regularly becomes a hero of Western publications. Although he is only an assistant to the head of state, Vladimir Zelensky, in fact, he plays a huge role in Ukrainian politics, seeking benefits for himself in some areas and suffering defeats in others. Why the Western media relied on Ermak is in the Izvestia article.

What they write about Ermak

• The Financial Times newspaper has become another publication that has published a programmatic investigation about Andrei Ermak. The material devoted to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine turned out to be full of various details of how he arranged the political backstage of the country and holds it in his hands. Under the close influence of Western journalists, it turned out what kind of influence Yermak exerts and what consequences his shadow government can lead to.

• The authors of the material directly attribute to Ermak a number of achievements that a simple technical administrator could not have achieved. He is called the developer of peace initiatives on the part of Ukraine and the organizer of events to which high-ranking foreign officials, ambassadors and stars are invited to promote Kiev's policy. The 53-year-old functionary, according to the authors, has become the head of secret diplomacy, with whom it is primarily necessary to negotiate.

Another function of Ermak was the selection of government officials. It has become customary to evaluate a person in Ukrainian politics by how close he is to the head of the president's office. Yermak's people include Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga and new Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. At the same time, those whom Ermak considers too popular and therefore dangerous for Zelensky are quickly deprived of their high positions. Such figures include former army Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny and former Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

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Finally, Ermak became the unofficial curator of many projects on the Ukrainian agenda. He is involved in the exchange of prisoners of war, in the conclusion of deals on the export of Ukrainian grain, in attracting financial and military assistance. One of his landmark projects was organizing Zelensky's trips to frontline cities to create a favorable image in the West. These image-building events sometimes went against the opinion of the military leadership.

At the same time, Ermak's self-confidence sometimes leads to failures. It was he who insisted on Zelensky's February visit to the White House and tried to stage it, but this action ended in a quarrel with US President Donald Trump and the temporary cessation of military assistance. Ermak also delayed the conclusion of a deal on minerals and clashed with the US Embassy in Kiev when it was headed by Bridget Brink. Having become accustomed to the more loyal attitude of the previous US administration, Ermak tried for a very long time and painfully for his ego to reset relations with Washington.

Why does Ermak get so much attention

• Formally, Ermak holds the non-political position of head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, which is rather technical. But in fact, he turned, and quite a long time ago, into a gray cardinal under Zelensky. This is how it is customary in political science to refer to figures who exert excessive influence on politics without official status and avoid publicity. In this capacity, Ermak has been quite successful in consolidating more and more power in the hands of the president. The degree of wagging that he exerts on Zelensky is considered by some experts as the actual governance of the state.

• Their own strengthening and consolidation of power around Zelensky cause some irritation in the opposition circles of Ukraine. Even at recent protests against the weakening of anti-corruption authorities, slogans against Ermak were heard. In the West, too, the attitude towards the head of the office is changing to an increasingly impatient one. If Zelensky takes actions that run counter to the opinion of his allies or pursue his own interests, many see Yermak's hand behind this.

Yermak's role in the West is now under review due to the realization of the American administration that it has reached an impasse in trying to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. Both Yermak and Zelensky are now seen as obstacles to resolving the conflict. Their tandem demonstrates maximum intransigence and does not allow Trump to stake out the coveted status of a peacemaker. His administration now has the opportunity to take advantage of the protests that have rocked Ukraine to put pressure on the office of the Ukrainian leader.

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Yermak has already done too much to strengthen Zelensky's power and keep him at the head of the political hierarchy. To a certain extent, the president has already become dependent on his manager. Zelensky understands that only Yermak can keep him in his positions through his non-public work, and therefore he will stick to his loyal follower with all his might. To do this, he especially needs the support of the Western press, which he knows how to provide.

• The interest of foreign media in Ermak is also supported by the fact that Western journalists are surprised to see how the head of the president's office conducts political processes in the country. This is an atypical phenomenon in Western politics that requires some study. If Zelensky's loyal assistant is behind his decisions, then naturally attention falls on him.

What are Yermak's prospects

• The expert community is confident that Yermak cannot turn into an independent political figure and replace Zelensky in the foreseeable future. He has accumulated quite a lot of negativity both from Western partners and from the political elite of Ukraine. It is extremely difficult for him to find himself in any elected or public position. Therefore, he prefers an administrative role, which brings him much more benefits than if he decided to take a formal promotion.

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• At the same time, Ermak can hardly be called anyone's protégé. Even if he was dependent on someone at the beginning of his shadowy political career, he was able to dissociate himself and begin to rise within Zelensky's team. Ermak acts within the framework of his self-created autonomy, while being aware of his toxicity and the need to keep his distance because of it.

Much of Yermak's political future depends on whether he can gain sufficient American support. Although he is recognized as one of the Ukrainian leaders in the UK and the European Union, as well as in the US Democratic Party, his management style and demands are rejected among Republicans. This is still a deterrent for Ermak. But if the opinion about him transforms, the ambitions of the former lawyer and producer can grow. For this reason, the Western press is so closely following and writing about Ermak.

When writing the material, Izvestia interviewed:

• Alexey Zudin, a political scientist and senior lecturer at MGIMO University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation;
• political scientist Ivan Mezyuho.