What Podolyak Said — And Why Right Now
In a video for LIGA.net, advisor to the Presidential Office Mykhaylo Podolyak laid out a version that is meant to become the official narrative following Andriy Yermak's resignation: the Presidential Office is not an executive body, but "essentially the president's chancellery, secretariat." Yermak, according to Podolyak, was an operations manager, not an independent political figure.
The timeline is crucial. Yermak was dismissed on November 28, 2025 — the same morning that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office conducted searches at his residence as part of Operation "Midas" regarding large-scale corruption in the energy sector. Zelensky announced a "reboot" of the Presidential Office, and appointed a new head — Kyrylo Budanov — only on January 2, 2026, after more than a month of interregnum.
Podolyak's words appear now — at the height of discussions about whether anything has really changed. And this is not neutral analysis: this is positioning.
The Bankova Version Against Sources' Version
The thesis that "Yermak was just a manager" falls apart on its own logic. If the Presidential Office is a chancellery without real influence, why would it be publicly announced as undergoing a reboot after the resignation of just one "operations manager"?
"Yermak is gone — but he exists. It's just that now he needs to send not 10 text messages, but 5. And everything else will be controlled by trusted people."
Source of Ukrainian Pravda in the power vertical, April 2026
According to Ukrainian Pravda, nearly five months after Yermak's resignation, he retains decisive influence over most appointees who appeared in the Presidential Office during his tenure. Key figures have remained in place. Sources of the publication in political circles note: there was no signal from the president to "stop answering the phone" — instead, there is a signal that confirms Andriy Borisovych's authority.
An even more telling detail: according to those same sources, the new head of the Presidential Office Budanov does not have real personnel independence regarding the deputies left by Yermak.
Podolyak's Interest in This Picture
Podolyak is not a neutral commentator. After all of Yermak's advisors were dismissed, he was reappointed as an advisor to the Presidential Office itself. He remained in the system he describes as "merely a chancellery."
- Minimizing Yermak removes institutional responsibility from the Presidential Office for decisions made between 2019–2025.
- The "secretariat" frame protects Zelensky: if the Presidential Office is a technical body, all power and all responsibility rests exclusively with the president.
- The timing of the statement coincides with National Anti-Corruption Bureau investigations and public discussions about how the "reboot" turned out to be cosmetic.
What a Skeptic Should Do With This
Podolyak is not lying in the sense that the Presidential Office is indeed not formally an executive body — this is enshrined in law. But "formally" and "factually" in Ukrainian politics diverged long ago. For five years, the Presidential Office made decisions that determined personnel policy in ministries, negotiating positions, and the media agenda. Now, when searches have already been conducted and Yermak is out of office, the concept of a "chancellery" suddenly emerges.
If Budanov truly cannot independently replace any of the deputies left by his predecessor — then the question is not whether Yermak was an influential figure. The question is whether he remains one. And the answer to that will not come from Podolyak's words, but when — or if — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announces charges.
