Washington has had it with Andriy Yermak

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Amid the pitched political battles that have engulfed Washington over Ukraine, there is one rare point of bipartisan consensus: Everyone has had it with Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The second most powerful man in Ukraine, Yermak has been a particularly frustrating interlocutor for the Trump administration, according to 10 people familiar with his interactions.

Yermak has made regular trips to Washington since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has acted as an intermediary to Ukraine’s president. But many in Washington have found Yermak to be uninformed about U.S. politics, abrasive and overly demanding with U.S. officials — and generally unable to navigate the inner workings of the Washington establishment on Capitol Hill. Some also worry he has not accurately conveyed U.S. positions to the leadership back in Ukraine.

POLITICO spoke to 14 people for this story, including congressional aides, former U.S. and Ukrainian officials and others informed of Yermak’s interactions in Washington. Most of those interviewed were granted anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive diplomatic matters.

One of the people familiar with Yermak’s interactions with the Trump administration described him as a “bipartisan irritator.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/1 ... n-00414197