The post remains vacant after the president dismissed his longtime ally Andriy Yermak on Nov. 28. The firing came after Yermak was implicated in a major corruption scandal based on an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
According to public broadcaster Suspilne, the current short
list for the head of the President’s Office includes the following contenders:
- Mykhailo Fedorov, Digital Transformation Minister;
- Denys Shmyhal, Defense Minister;
- Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence
(HUR);
- Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy Foreign Minister;
- Col. Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the President’s Office.
At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that appointing Shmyhal or Fedorov would present an additional challenge: their ministerial would have to then be filled through a vote in the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada).
“I have options in minister Shmyhal or minister Fedorov, but there’s a catch: the Rada must dismiss them first, and I don’t want it to be like a game of Jenga, where you pull one piece and everything falls apart,” he said.
He also noted, as reported by the BBC Ukrainian Service, that finding successors for Kyslytsya (who plays a key role in ongoing negotiations with the United States) or Budanov would not be easy.
Zelenskyy added that if the selection process drags on, he believes he can “manage without [a head of the Presidential Office].”
“Decisions must be made; if it takes too long, I think I can
manage without a chief of staff,” he said.