As peace negotiations with Russia proceed under intense pressure from the United States, Ukraine is undergoing a period of major political upheaval that could open the door to reforms in how the war-torn country is governed. On Friday, November 28, Volodymyr Zelensky’s trusted aide, chief of staff Andriy Yermak, was swept up in a corruption scandal, just three weeks after two ministers (justice and energy) were dismissed over alleged involvement in a case uncovered by anti-corruption investigators. No successor has yet been named. These developments have fueled growing calls from critics for a reorganization of the Ukrainian president’s governing methods.

Many opposition MPs had long demanded Yermak’s departure. Beyond the corruption case, in which he has not been formally charged, this key figure in Zelensky’s camp was seen as the architect of the hyper-centralization of power within the presidency, a style of governance that has effectively sidelined Parliament since the beginning of the Russian invasion. The discomfort ran so deep that more and more MPs from the president’s own Servant of the People party had joined the dissent in recent weeks. Without resolving the corruption scandal, the resignation of a man who later said he intends to “join the front” nevertheless met the expectations of part of the political establishment.

While Ukrainians, already battered by prolonged daily power outages caused by Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, were shocked to discover the extent of corruption among those close to power, the impact on the president’s popularity remains difficult to measure in the absence of recent polling. The latest survey from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, conducted in September and October, showed a 60% confidence rating. His popularity has never dropped below 50% since the invasion began. No political party disputes Zelensky’s legitimacy. The decision to cancel the spring 2024 elections because of martial law and the impossibility of holding an election during wartime is widely accepted.

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