Former head of Ukraine’s presidential office Andriy Yermak has continued meeting with senior officials since stepping down, including National Security and Defense Council Secretary and former defense minister Rustem Umerov. He also visited the Koncha-Zaspa sanatorium near the state dachas, where he may be meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to an Ukrainska Pravda investigation titled “Godfather on Remote,” published on the outlet’s YouTube channel.
Yermak moves around Kyiv with a security detail. It remains unclear whether the protection is state-provided or private.
On January 27, 2026, Yermak met Oleksandr Kamyshin, Zelensky’s strategic adviser and former minister for strategic industries. Kamyshin arrived with a notebook, and the meeting lasted about an hour.
It took place in the same building where Yermak previously met Israel’s ambassador Yevhen Korniychuk.
Kamyshin told reporters he could not recall whether the meeting occurred, despite it taking place a week before his comment. He added that he continues to communicate with Yermak. “He worked as head of the Office for a very long time. And of course there are some issues we continue to discuss,” Kamyshin said. He stressed those discussions do not involve contracts or defense procurement but declined to specify the subjects, saying he did not remember.
On the evening of January 30, Yermak went to see NSDC Secretary and former defense minister Rustem Umerov. Authorities suspect businessman Timur Mindich of unlawfully influencing Umerov.
A member of Umerov’s security met Yermak’s motorcade at the parking entrance. In total, the ex–chief of staff spent about three hours at Umerov’s location.
Umerov said the meeting lasted about an hour and covered general topics — life, work and events in Ukraine. He noted the two had hardly had time to talk since Yermak left office, and emphasized that Yermak exerts no influence over him.
On February 1, Yermak headed toward the state dachas in Koncha-Zaspa, entering the Koncha-Zaspa sanatorium located directly behind the dacha complex’s fence. Vehicles resembling state security appeared at the sanatorium entrance shortly afterward.
According to the outlet’s sources, Yermak has been communicating with Zelensky on the grounds of the state dachas since his resignation.
Reporters were unable to speak with Yermak. When journalist Mykhailo Tkach approached his car, Yermak said, “Goodbye,” and drove off.
Earlier, it emerged that Yermak may have sent his lawyer Ihor Fomin to Israel to meet businessman Timur Mindich, seeking an arrangement under which Mindich would not testify against the former presidential chief of staff.
After the first part of the “Mindich tapes” was published, Yermak tasked subordinates with preparing a notice of suspicion for Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office head Oleksandr Klymenko. At the end of the first week of Operation “Midas,” Zelensky invited the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and SAPO to a meeting.
Later, NABU detective Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, who worked on a corruption probe involving Energoatom, said there is “physical evidence” related to Yermak. He said the evidence was obtained during Operation “Midas,” though Yermak is formally a figure in a separate case.
