Why Yermak annoys both Democrats and Republicans
Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak at talks with the U.S. delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 11, 2025 (Photo: t.me/ermaka2022)
Andriy Yermak, head of President's Office, is irritating U.S. politicians from both parties, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed officials in Kyiv and Washington on July 24.
The newspaper notes that irritating politicians from both major U.S. parties is "an extraordinary feat that few can boast of — and one that should not be celebrated in Kyiv."
“He [Yermak] makes everything more complicated than it needs to be. He does not generate any creative ideas. He also has a tendency to make everything about himself,” a former U.S. official told the publication.
The unnamed official added that at times, the head of the President's Office “does not seem genuinely interested in his own country.”
“It’s about him trying to insert himself into the center of decision-making, to the point where it actively harms [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Ukraine,” the official said.
Still, officials interviewed by the newspaper acknowledged that Yermak "has won a few victories."
Two sources cited the 2024 peace summit in Switzerland, crediting Yermak with helping to attract several Global South countries that had previously remained neutral or aligned with Russia.
However, others described both the Swiss summit and its predecessor at Boryspil Airport as “ill-conceived.” One Western ambassador dismissed them as “PR shows,” criticizing the exclusion of Russia and China.
The Financial Times writes that Yermak’s relationship with U.S. politicians “has not improved much” since his last trip to Washington in June. According to the report, Yermak had hoped to meet with senior officials from President Donald Trump’s administration — meetings that were either sharply reduced or canceled altogether.
Sources told the FT that a planned meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles never happened.
“They passed each other in a hallway. When Wiles moved on, Yermak managed only one sentence: ‘I want to say that we are going to win the war,’” a source familiar with the encounter said.
The OP’s attempt to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio “went only slightly better,” the FT reports, while Vice President J.D. Vance’s team “gave him the cold shoulder.”
“It was a disaster,” an unnamed Ukrainian official said.
The Financial Times said it interviewed more than 40 individuals — including current and former Ukrainian officials, Western diplomats in Kyiv, and officials from European and U.S. governments — who have worked directly with Yermak.
In June, Politico reported, citing sources, that Yermak was viewed as a “particularly unpleasant interlocutor” by the White House. One source familiar with interactions between Yermak’s team and Trump administration officials described him as “an irritant for both parties.”
According to Politico, during his most recent trip to the U.S., Yermak arrived without a clear agenda — prompting reactions such as: “We don’t know why he’s here.”
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