Zelenskyy views digital transformation minister as main contender for head of President's Office, sources say
Ukrainska Pravda has learnt from its sources that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considering Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, as the leading candidate for the role of Head of the President's Office.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Ukrainian parliament and the government
Details: Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that President Zelenskyy is leaning towards Fedorov's candidacy. "The decision was nearly final as of Thursday evening. But as of Friday morning, the president is still weighing his options," the sources said.
Parliament will need to dismiss Fedorov from his government posts before he can assume the new role.
Earlier, a source in the Ukrainian government told Ukrainska Pravda that the most likely candidates for the position of Head of the President's Office are Fedorov, Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Chief Kyrylo Budanov, and Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the President's Office for Military Affairs.
Zelenskyy announced on 4 December that he had held additional meetings with candidates for the position of head of the Office of the President. "Today, I also held additional meetings with the candidates for the position of the new head of the Office of the President – we discussed the formats of the Office's work and the interaction with other state institutions that is necessary for Ukraine's interests. A decision regarding the new head of the Office will be made in the near future," the president said in his evening address.
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Background:
- On 28 November, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were conducting searches at the office of Andrii Yermak, now former head of the President's Office, in the government district. Ukrainska Pravda journalists managed to record around 10 employees from NABU and SAPO entering the government district.
- Yermak confirmed that a 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 the 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.
- Later, Zelenskyy announced that he had accepted Yermak's resignation from the post of head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and that the institution would now undergo a reboot. The president said he would hold consultations on Saturday with those who could take over as head of the Office.
- Yermak subsequently announced that he was joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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