In his evening address of Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he has held additional meetings with candidates for the position of head of the Office of the President, replacing Andriy Yermak, who submitted his resignation shortly after anti-corruption authorities implicated him in the widespread fraud scandal at state power grid operator Ukrenergo.
“Today, I held additional meetings with the candidates for the position of the new head of the Office of the President,” Zelensky said in his address to the nation. “We discussed the formats of the Office’s work and the interaction with other state institutions that is necessary for Ukraine’s interests. A decision regarding the new head of the Office will be made in the near future.”
While rumors of his dismissal swirled in November, Yermak held on to his position as Zelensky’s right-hand-man, as political stability in Kyiv was seen as especially important during peace negotiations with the US.
But after authorities from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) raided his home on Nov. 28, Yermak resigned from his post and said he was going to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“I’m going to the front and am prepared for any reprisals. I am an honest and decent person,” he told the New York Post. “My dignity hasn’t been protected, despite having been in Kyiv since 24 February 2022. Therefore, I don’t want to create problems for Zelensky. I’m going to the front.”
While some international media outlets hailed his departure as a victory for transparency and a blow to autocracy, many in Europe and the US worried that the power vacuum he left in his wake and the aftertaste of corruption would weaken Ukraine’s negotiating power at peace talks.
To help improve those optics, at least, the supervisory board of Ukrenergo, announced on Thursday that it has established an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Committee aimed at strengthening independent oversight of integrity-related matters.
“The Supervisory Board acts independently and decisively, adhering to the highest standards of integrity. Today’s decisions underline our zero-tolerance approach to corruption and our commitment to complete transparency and accountability. Protecting the reputation of Ukrenergo is important for securing financing, restructuring credit obligations and maintaining the trust of international partners in this critical time for Ukraine’s energy sector,” Chairman of the Supervisory Board Yeppe Kofod wrote on social media.
Ukrenergo’s management was instructed to implement strengthened mechanisms of personal responsibility for all employees involved in he procurement and tender processes.