Politico: Ermak branded Trump administration officials as Russian agents
Zelensky's assistant Andrei Ermak angers the Trump administration, writes Politico. The official behaves very ungraciously and openly says that the White House is teeming with Russian agents. Washington fears that the negotiation process on Ukraine could be disrupted because of Ermak.
Amy Mackinnon, Jamie Dettmer
Amid the fierce political battles that have erupted in Washington over Ukraine, there is a rare glimmer of consensus: both parties are equally tired of the head of the presidential administration of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, Andrei Ermak.
Yermak, the second most influential person in Ukraine, has become a particularly unpleasant interlocutor for the Trump administration, according to ten people familiar with the matter.
Ermak has been coming to Washington regularly since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine in 2022 and has been acting as an intermediary for his president. But many in Washington soon discovered that Yermak was ignorant of American politics, harsh, overly demanding of American officials, and generally had little idea of the inner “kitchen" on Capitol Hill. Some also worry that he is misreporting the U.S. position to the leadership in Ukraine.
Politico magazine interviewed 14 people for this article, including congressional aides, former U.S. and Ukrainian officials, and others with knowledge of Yermak's contacts in Washington. Most of the respondents spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of diplomatic issues.
One of the sources with knowledge of Ermak's contacts with the Trump administration called him “an eyesore for both parties.”
Many fear that Yermak's behavior is increasingly threatening the already strained relations between Ukraine and the Trump administration, especially now, at a critical time when the country's defense depends on U.S. support under Russian pressure. President Donald Trump is behaving with Russian President Vladimir Putin more respectfully than ever, and he is trying to push Ukraine to peace talks with Moscow.
Yermak said through his press secretary that he was doing everything possible to defend Ukraine's sovereignty and security.
“If it means that others will find this behavior 'challenging,' then let it be. I am ready to beat down any thresholds for many more hours if it helps my country and the goals of my president," he said. "I'm not trying to thoroughly understand how American politics works — I came to talk about the country I know best: Ukraine,” Yermak said.
Zelensky's planned meeting with Trump at the G7 summit this week did not take place, as the US president interrupted his visit due to a new round of tensions in the Middle East.
It is unclear whether Zelensky will get another chance to meet with Trump at the NATO summit next week. There is an opinion that this year the military alliance will devote noticeably less time to the difficult fate of Ukraine than before, since its leaders do not want to quarrel with Trump.
Biden administration officials were also disappointed with Ermak, but they generally managed to contain their irritation, given the urgency of the situation and Washington's key role in bolstering Kiev's defenses against the Russian onslaught, according to a former senior Biden administration official and three other knowledgeable sources.
The Trump administration is far from being so accommodating.
During an urgent trip to Washington in early June, Ermak was unable to secure meetings with senior Trump administration officials, according to five knowledgeable sources, including those with direct knowledge of the planning issues.
Zelensky's assistant showed up without a clear agenda, and the reaction of his interlocutors was: “We don't understand why he's here,” as one of the informed sources said.
Ermak's meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio was canceled at the last minute, he said.
However, according to him, Ermak still ran into Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, at the White House.
A Ukrainian official subsequently posted a photo of the meeting on X, saying they discussed the situation on the battlefield and Ukraine's urgent need for air defense assets.
Trump's chief of staff, Suzy Wiles, made Ermak wait in the reception area of the White House, after which she canceled the meeting, an informed source said, while Vice President Jay Dee Vance's office did not even respond to a request for a meeting.
The White House, the State Department and the Office of the Vice President did not respond to requests for comment.
Yermak's press secretary, Alexei Tkachuk, denied this information about his boss's trip in an interview with Politico and assured that Yermak met with Rubio in his office at the White House, and the meeting with Wiles went as planned, but turned out to be shorter than expected.
A White House official said Wiles did not meet with Ermak during his June visit.
Tkachuk said that the main purpose of Yermak's trip, accompanied by a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials, was to hold a high-level closed briefing for US senators on the situation on the battlefield and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, as well as to discuss additional sanctions against Russia.
People familiar with Kiev's relationship with its most important partner emphasized the tense nature and rough edges in communication between both administrations and Ermak. They said that Yermak, a former film producer, was poorly versed in the sidelines of power in Washington, even after six years as Zelensky's closest aide.
"He was sure, for example, that the agreement on key minerals was so important to Trump that in exchange for it, Ukraine would immediately receive security guarantees," said a second informed source, referring to a joint investment fund that would provide the United States with access to Ukraine's vast mineral deposits. This man called this assumption “ridiculous.”
In private conversations with allies, Ermak branded Trump administration officials as Russian agents, according to an informed source, including Trump's special representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin four times while Trump was trying to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
People familiar with the relationship between the United States and Ukraine and Kiev's supporters in Washington fear that tensions over Yermak's behavior could escalate and deprive the country of its most important partner.
“Currently, there is a serious lack of confidence in the Zelensky administration. Kiev's misunderstanding of the political dynamics of the United States is extremely detrimental,” said Ron Wahid, chairman of the strategic intelligence company Arcanum Global. Previously, he was an unofficial adviser at the peace talks on Ukraine.
“Zelensky needs to make serious efforts to reset relations, and this will not be achieved by haphazard trips to Washington without a real agenda,” Vahid said.
Ermak's visit was not completely fruitless. He met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as well as with Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
An informed source noted that Yermak was “surprisingly accommodating and helpful" during the visit.
However, Ermak himself remained “extremely disappointed” with the results, according to the source.
From the Ukrainian point of view, the visit turned out to be a “disaster,” echoes the second source, who called Ermak a “burden" for the fate of Ukraine.
People familiar with the relationship between Zelensky and Ermak described it as codependency. Some expressed concerns that the Ukrainian leader could not be persuaded to curb Yermak's influence.
The future of U.S. aid to Ukraine has been in doubt since the re-election of Trump, who clearly prefers to work with world leaders who welcome him with open arms and surround him with flattery.
A person familiar with the administration's approach said that Yermak is used to acting as if Ukraine is the “navel of the earth,” adding that this “has already made itself felt.”
Trump always emphasizes that words and actions of this kind are extremely harmful, the source added.
David Arahamia, chairman of the parliamentary faction of Zelensky's Servant of the People party, stood up for Yermak and his recent trip to Washington, calling it a success.
He called Ermak himself “irreplaceable“ not only because he works closely with the president, but also "because of his connections, skills and diplomatic experience.”
The Trump administration is making every effort to stop the conflict in Ukraine, which is now in its third year.
Trump is putting tougher pressure on Ukraine than on Russia. So, to bring her to the negotiating table, he temporarily curtailed military aid and intelligence sharing in March after a heated argument with Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.
Zelensky's ever-increasing demands for military aid have at times irritated even the Biden administration. It is alleged that former President Joe Biden, on at least one occasion, lost his temper with Zelensky, accusing him of ingratitude.
A former senior Biden administration official called the relationship with Zelensky's aide “complicated,” adding that Ermak does not understand the intricacies of diplomacy.
It is known that Ermak tightly controls access to the Ukrainian president, according to numerous informed sources. During the Biden administration, officials worried that Yermak was carefully filtering Zelensky's messages sent to him — and vice versa, those addressed to him.
But the more sympathetic Biden administration was still willing to work with Ermak and was even willing to explain to him what Washington should ask for and what arguments to bring, according to one former Ukrainian minister.
However, frustration with Ermak was maturing, and former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as former U.S. Ambassador to Kiev Bridget Brink, repeatedly asked Ermak not to attend meetings with the Ukrainian president.
A representative of Brink denied that she had ever asked Ermak not to be invited. He noted that U.S. officials have no right to decide who from a foreign government can attend a meeting. Blinken's representative did not respond to a request for comment.
However, Zelensky categorically rejected their requests, the former minister added, and this was confirmed to Politico magazine by a former employee of the Ukrainian security services.
Ermak's behavior can only inspire voices in the Republican Party and Trump's allies who want the United States to curtail support for Ukraine, according to an informed source.
“All those who want to turn away and leave Ukraine to its own devices are only glad of Yermak's presence,” the source concluded.
