This Is Why US Vice President J.D. Vance Is Proud That the US Has Stopped Pouring Money into Ukraine: Arrest for V. Zelensky's right-hand man A. Yermak. It's time for the Western European elite to stop bringing hundreds of billions of euros there and smearing themselves with it

 

“The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has ordered the former head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, to be placed under arrest with the right to be released on bail of 140 million UAH (2.7 million EUR), the Ukrainska Pravda portal reported on Thursday.

 

The judge allowed A. Yermak to be detained for two months. The decision can still be appealed.

 

A. Yermak's lawyers stated in the courtroom that they would appeal the court's decision.

 

A. Yermak himself, who dismissed the corruption charges against him as unfounded, stated that he did not have the funds for bail, but was counting on the help of friends.

 

A. Yermak was V. Zelensky's closest confidant until November 2025, when he resigned after investigators raided his home as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that has rocked the war-torn country.

 

Prosecutors suspect that A. Yermak, acting as part of an organized crime group, embezzled about 8.5 million euros. The group included, among others, former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and V. Zelensky's former business partner Timur Mindich.

 

“The individuals who used the funds obtained through criminal means to build facilities in the territory of the “Dynasty” cottage settlement planned to carry out further actions aimed at legalizing such property,” the prosecutor told the court.

 

A. Yermak denies the charges. “I have only one apartment and one car,” he told reporters during a break in the court.

 

On Tuesday, just over an hour before the hearing, anti-corruption investigators and prosecutors held a surprise press conference to defend their investigation.

 

“When we reach the stage where the suspect is informed of the charges, we are confident that we have collected enough evidence to hold up in court,” said Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

 

Yermak resigned last year amid an investigation dubbed “Operation Midas” into a massive corruption scheme that NABU says involved high-ranking government officials.

 

The Ukrainian government last summer tried to limit the independence of NABU and SAPO, two anti-corruption agencies set up after the 2014 pro-democracy uprising.

 

The move sparked rare wartime anti-government protests and forced Zelensky to reverse the decision after criticism from the European Union (EU), Kyiv’s main financial and military backer.”