Yermak rewrote information, filtered decisions, and ruled access to Zelenskyy — ex-spokesperson

"Yermak repeatedly delivered information to Zelenskyy in a way that suited him, or as he personally chose to interpret it," she said.

She and other officials repeatedly received calls from Yermak forbidding them from doing what the president had explicitly instructed.

Mendel added that all decisions from Zelenskyy effectively had to pass through Yermak as a filter, making him the central gatekeeper in the president’s office.

She described Yermak as “the most dangerous person in today’s power vertical.”

“I’m saying this now and I’m scared," Mendel explained.

"I understand that no one will believe it, but every day I pray to God and thank Him that I’m alive. Because he [Yermak-ed.] is a very dangerous man. A very dangerous man. And those who know him will understand.”

She added that during a 2019 trip to the United States, Yermak asked a political consultant how he could become president of Ukraine.

“His ambitions are quite large — and very visibly so,” she concluded.

Mendel suggested that even after his resignation, Yermak has likely not abandoned his political influence over current politicians and law-enforcement bodies.

Mendel served as Zelenskyy’s press secretary from June 3, 2019, to July 9, 2021. Before that, she worked as a journalist for several media outlets.

Yermak’s resignation 

On the morning of Nov. 28, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted a search at Yermak’s residence in Kyiv’s government quarter. According to Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller, the searches were carried out as part of Operation Midas, a major corruption investigation into schemes in Ukraine’s energy sector.

NABU Director Semen Kryvonos said he could neither confirm nor deny whether Yermak was implicated in the Midas case.

That evening, President Zelenskyy announced in his address that Yermak submitted his resignation. The formal dismissal decree was later published on the president’s website.

On Nov. 29, the former Presidential Office Chief publicly commented on his resignation for the first time, saying he will continue to consider Zelenskyy his friend even after leaving office.