Zelenskyy names candidates for head of President's Office

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced his candidates for the position of head of the President's Office. They are Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Defence Intelligence Head Kyrylo Budanov, Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia, and Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the President's Office.

Source: Zelenskyy during an online press briefing

Quote: "I have [several] options: Minister Shmyhal or Minister Fedorov, but there is a challenge because the [Verkhovna] Rada [the Ukrainian parliament – ed.] has to remove them before I can appoint them, and I don't want it to be like a game of Jenga, where you pull out one piece and everything collapses. The President's Office is important, but there are other institutions too.

I don't know who could replace Fedorov at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, but there are a lot of smart young people there. Maybe Mykhailo can find a replacement for himself.

The Ministry of Defence is more complicated as it is priority number one, and I am not sure the Rada can find a candidate together with the Cabinet [of Ministers, the Ukrainian government – ed.]. They still haven't been able to find a justice minister or an energy minister. I hope they will resolve this soon."

Details: Zelenskyy also named Serhii Kyslytsia, Kyrylo Budanov and Pavlo Palisa as candidates. However, the president is still weighing up the options, as all the candidates currently hold key positions.

Quote: "In any case, a choice needs to be made. If it takes a long time, I'll get used to managing on my own, without a head of the Office, and maybe I could live without one entirely; but a decision must be made."

Background:

• On 28 November, Ukrainska Pravda reported that officers from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were conducting searches at the office of Andrii Yermak, then head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, in the government district. Ukrainska Pravda journalists managed to record around 10 employees from NABU and SAPO entering the government district.
• Yermak confirmed that the search was taking place at his home and said he was ready to assist the investigation. According to UP, he had not been served with a notice of suspicion as of that morning.
• Poland said that corruption investigations in Ukraine are "bad news" from the Polish point of view, as they do not make the current peace talks any easier.
• Zelenskyy later announced that he had accepted Andrii Yermak's resignation as head of the President's Office and that the institution would now undergo a reboot. The president said he would hold consultations with potential candidates on 29 November.
• Yermak subsequently announced that he was joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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