Yermak has been visiting Washington regularly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s closest advisor and aide.
Sources said many in Washington consider Yermak “inadequately informed” about U.S. political culture, blunt, and overly demanding of U.S. officials. Some worry he does not accurately relay the U.S. position to the Ukrainian leader.
One source familiar with Yermak’s interactions with the Trump administration described him as a “bipartisan irritant.” Others fear that his behavior is further jeopardizing the already fraught relationship between Ukraine and the Trump team.
In a comment, Yermak’s press office said he is doing everything possible to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and security.
“If that means others will see it as a challenge—so be it; I’ll wait for hours by any door if it helps my country and my president’s mission,” Yermak said.
An official who served in President Joe Biden’s administration acknowledged disappointment with Yermak but said officials suppressed their irritation given the urgency of the war and Washington’s crucial role in shoring up Ukraine’s defense.
Yermak’s most recent visit to the United States, he reportedly arrived without a clear agenda.
“We don’t know why he’s here,” one U.S. official commented.
A former high-ranking Biden official described the relationship with the head of the president’s office as “complicated” and added that Yermak fails to grasp the subtleties of diplomacy.
Much of these concerns stem from Yermak’s tight control over access to the Ukrainian president. During the Biden administration, U.S. officials worried that Yermak would “filter” and distort Zelenskyy’s messages to them, and vice versa.