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Zelenskyy’s top aide Andriy Yermak faces criticism and some praise as war with Russia drags on
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With all eyes on Alaska for President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s right-hand man Andriy Yermak’s profile is rising, but not always for the right reasons.
As the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, he will likely be by Zelenskyy’s side once Trump calls following his meeting with Putin.
«Yermak is convinced that he’s got all the answers, even though, quite frankly, he often doesn’t,» a former senior official in the Biden administration told Fox News Digital.
His influence is considered second only to Zelenskyy, and he has even been accused of making personnel moves that not even Zelenskyy is fully aware of.
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The senior official said Yermak has his own agenda and devises strategy for Zelenskyy. He’s a key figure in terms of personnel and determines who takes important decisions in the presidential office.
Andriy Yermak is head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. (Office of Andriy Yermak)
«He is an unelected official who wields immense power in Ukraine,» the former Biden official said.
Echoing this sentiment, a senior Senate Republican staffer said Yermak is politically tone-deaf on Washington, D.C., politics and would oftentimes request meetings on Capitol Hill without an agenda or concrete asks on behalf of Ukraine’s needs.
«Dealing with Donald Trump, MAGA Republicans is also very different from dealing with Joe Biden liberals, and you have to be able to talk to both camps in this town and be able to do it at the same time in a lot of different ways. It’s a hard thing to do. And he’s just terrible at it,» the staffer who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital.
Like Zelenskyy, Yermak’s previous experience is in entertainment, as a martial arts movie producer and a copyright lawyer. He had no prior experience in government before teaming up with Zelenskyy to join his historic presidential campaign in 2019.
Zelenskyy appointed him as his top advisor on international affairs, but even his harshest critics admit that Yermak is someone who gets things done.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak are meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 22, 2024. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via AP)
«Yermak knows how to manhandle the government and the apparatus. He has installed loyalists throughout the government. And so he can use all of those levers of power to get results,» Josh Rudolph, anti-corruption expert at the German Marshal Fund, told Fox News Digital.
When power is concentrated and personalized, as is the case with Yermak, mistakes can happen. Rudolph and others who spoke with Fox News Digital said it was Yermak who advised Zelenskyy on the contentious February Oval Office meeting with Trump.
Several Ukrainian officials who spoke to Fox News Digital allege that Yermak was the force behind Zelenskyy’s decision to sign a law that targeted Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions, which led to international condemnation and the largest anti-government demonstrations against Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
«It was a plan made and implemented by Yermak. Everyone else was just the instrument in this plan. It was his idea to go after the anti-corruption law enforcement agencies,» Yaroslav Zheleznyak, chairman of the Finance Committee in Ukraine’s parliament, told Fox News Digital.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a Leopard 2A6 tank during a military exercise, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 12, 2024. (REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/ File Photo)
Zheleznyak described a dynamic where Yermak acts as prime minister, defense minister, foreign affairs minister and the head of parliament, all at once. He is the only one who can speak for Zelenskyy with any authority.
Zelenskyy ultimately reversed course in response to the large outcry of opposition, and Ukraine’s parliament subsequently passed new legislation to restore the independence of the anti-corruption agencies.
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Yermak told Fox News Digital through his spokesperson that, despite the criticism of some of the internal decision-making within Ukraine, Zelenskyy is firmly in control.
«Anyone who knows President Zelenskyy will tell you the same: he always makes his own decisions. He listens, weighs the facts and context — but he cannot be pressured. «That’s part of his strength,» Yermak’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
He downplayed the recent outpouring of opposition to Zelenskyy’s move to weaken two key anti-corruption agencies and appoint a politically-backed lead prosecutor.
«If people, especially young people, came out to express their views — that’s democracy in action. And they weren’t protesting against the President — they wanted to be heard. And the President heard them,» Yermak’s spokesperson said.
President Donald Trump, center, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, get into a verbal argument in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2025. (Getty)
Yermak’s been a pivotal conduit for Ukraine in negotiating with the U.S. and its European allies, particularly in pushing for tougher sanctions on Russia. While his unorthodox approach undoubtedly rankles the sensibilities of the Washington, D.C., foreign policy world and his compatriots in Ukraine, he is still a trusted advisor with key allies.
«In every country, certain posts are easily demonized by the media. Not because of the people on them, but because of the position’s proximity to the leader. Whatever the media reports, I can only share my personal experiences working with Andriy. I’ve seen him in the bunker beside the President since the first hours of the full-scale war,» Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Fox News Digital in a statement.
«He was there. Working literally around the clock, ready to take on any task, no matter how complex. He is a true workaholic, but he also has a sense of humor that gets him through even the most difficult situations,» Sybiha added.
ZELENSKYY FORCED TO RETHINK ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW AFTER PUBLIC BACKLASH
Personal loyalty is one aspect of Yermak’s character and power projection that all officials who spoke to Fox News Digital confirmed was most important.
Volodymyr Ariev, a member of the Ukrainian Rada with the European Solidarity political party, told Fox News Digital that Yermak has built up a power base that consists of loyalists and individuals who lack professionalism.
«Yermak is willing to be a top person in diplomacy, but at the same time, I don’t think he is very effective, especially in relations between United States and Ukraine, and he has become a bipartisan irritant,» Ariev said.
He claimed that officials on both sides of the Atlantic lack trust in Yermak.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left, shakes hands with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, right, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Zelenskyy, Rudolph and others argued, is better when he takes counsel from other sources.
«Zelenskyy has achieved better results when listening directly to his peers on the world stage, like President Trump and the European leaders, whether it relates to his readiness to accept an unconditional ceasefire or the backtrack on undermining the anti-corruption institutions,» Rudolph said.
Zelenskyy took calls from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron as soon as the crisis over the independence of the anti-corruption institutions blew up.
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The president ultimately listened to their direct pleas and promised them that he would fix the situation, which he then promptly did.
Yermak’s role as Zelenskyy’s most trusted advisor will be put to the test as Russia continues to make steady gains on the battlefield with intense international pressure mounting for a ceasefire.
ukraine,russia,europe,volodymyr zelenskyy,congress
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Congressman whose DC apartment complex was robbed blasts Democrats for criticizing Trump crime crackdown
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Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, blasted Democrats and the members of the media who have been critical of President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., in an effort to curb the rampant crime plaguing the city.
Hunt also revealed that his own DC apartment complex in the Navy Yard area was broken into last year, leaving a front desk attendant robbed of her belongings just several floors away from the congressman’s own unit.
«Downstairs in my apartment complex, there was a woman who was robbed,» Hunt told Fox News Digital. «She had her computer stolen, her phone stolen, and her iPad stolen right behind the desk, and we were all blocks away from the Capitol.»
«I was a three-minute drive away from the Capitol when this happened,» Hunt added. «Across the street from our complex was where Henry Cuellar was robbed at gunpoint. I don’t understand what these [critics] are talking about. It’s not safe.»
Hunt insists that the city is not safe. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
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Trump’s military intervention to combat crime in D.C. has been widely criticized by Democrats, with House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introducing a resolution last week to prevent the president from keeping servicemembers in the district.
Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Trump was able to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing him to declare a public emergency and deploy federal resources into the area.
«Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN,» Trump stated in an August 11 White House fact sheet on the emergency declaration. «Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.»
President Donald Trump has faced criticism for sending federal resources to Washington, D.C., to combat crime and homelessness. (Getty Images)
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Hunt also noted the actions of several Democrat governors who used their respective state’s National Guard to combat various issues.
«Tim Walz used the National Guard to implement COVID restrictions on people, not to take care of the murder capital of the United States,» Hunt told Fox. «Gavin Newsom is willing to clean up downtown LA in California for the President of China to come visit, but you won’t clean it up just for everyday citizens when all this crime is happening?»
The White House has also touted the success of the military presence in the nation’s capital, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters during a Tuesday press briefing that 465 arrests have been made since the start of the operation, including an MS13 gang member illegally in the US with convictions for drug possession and driving while intoxicated (DWI).
The White House has lauded the success of the D.C. crime crackdown. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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«Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,» Leavitt told the press.
As for the residents of DC, James Laverty, a staffer on Capitol Hill, told Fox News that the military presence has made a «noticeable difference» in the nation’s capital.
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«In certain areas, like Navy Yard and U Street, it feels much safer than it did just a week ago,» Laverty told Fox. «This past weekend, there was a noticeable difference in the vibe late at night, and I think it goes without saying that the impact of the National Guard on the streets is the clear reason for the newly found safe sentiment in DC.»
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
washington dc,crime,donald trump,congress
INTERNACIONAL
El boom global de las carreras STEM: adolescentes eligen ciencia y tecnología para construir su futuro
Laboratorios repletos de proyectos, aulas interactivas plagadas de dispositivos y conversaciones familiares donde se habla de inteligencia artificial o energías renovables: el fenómeno es mundial. Cada vez más adolescentes de diferentes regiones están apostando por las carreras STEM (ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas) y la tendencia muestra una fuerza inédita que trasciende fronteras culturales y económicas. Hoy, hablar el lenguaje de los algoritmos, la robótica y el análisis de datos ya no es una curiosidad, sino una necesidad para quienes imaginan su futuro en el mundo contemporáneo.
Según un análisis de The Conversation, el auge de las carreras STEM es evidente en varios países y responde a factores tanto económicos como sociales. En Reino Unido, el interés por estas materias alcanzó un récord histórico en 2025: matemáticas, química y biología se consolidaron como las opciones más populares entre los estudiantes de nivel secundario. Este crecimiento no se limita a Europa. En Estados Unidos, las universidades registran un flujo sostenido y creciente de estudiantes en ingeniería, ciencias aplicadas e informática.
La decisión de orientar la formación hacia carreras STEM tiene un sustento práctico indiscutible. The Conversation y The Guardian revelan que los egresados de áreas científicas y tecnológicas acceden a mayores beneficios económicos y mejores tasas de empleabilidad que quienes optan por otras disciplinas. Los sectores más dinámicos del mercado, desde inteligencia artificial y análisis de datos hasta energías renovables, ciberseguridad y desarrollo de aplicaciones, exigen competencias avanzadas en matemáticas, tecnología y ciencias.
La amplitud de salidas profesionales multiplica las oportunidades para los adolescentes: las ciencias abarcan desde la astronomía y la biología marina hasta la informática, la ingeniería ambiental o la medicina. En este escenario, las posibilidades para quienes eligen STEM se expanden a medida que surgen nuevas necesidades económicas y sociales vinculadas a la digitalización, la sustentabilidad y la innovación.
El boom de las carreras científicas y tecnológicas no solo responde a variables económicas. La cultura digital convirtió a las STEM en una parte ineludible de la vida cotidiana y de la creatividad. Artistas, arquitectos, fotógrafos, músicos o chefs incorporan tecnología, conceptos de física o biología y análisis de datos en procesos creativos y prácticos. Aplicaciones móviles para la salud, sistemas de navegación GPS o la automatización en tareas domésticas son apenas una muestra de cómo el conocimiento científico y tecnológico se ha vuelto indispensable más allá del ámbito académico.
Esta familiaridad con la tecnología y los conceptos matemáticos no solo prepara para empleos calificados, sino que también otorga herramientas esenciales para la toma de decisiones y la adaptación al entorno digital y globalizado que define la vida de las nuevas generaciones.
El auge de las STEM tiene raíces profundas en las transformaciones culturales, sociales y educativas internacionales. La preocupación por la crisis ambiental conduce a cientos de miles de adolescentes a interesarse por la ingeniería ambiental, la biotecnología o las ciencias naturales. De manera simultánea, la omnipresencia de empresas tecnológicas y plataformas digitales refuerza la percepción de que las competencias informáticas son tan necesarias como las habilidades tradicionales en cualquier profesión.
Medios de comunicación y productos culturales cumplen su rol: Blue Planet, presentado por Sir David Attenborough, movilizó el interés global por la biodiversidad marina y la contaminación por plásticos, mientras documentales sobre inteligencia artificial o salud digital disparan el entusiasmo por las disciplinas científicas dentro y fuera de las aulas.
La percepción de que la ciencia y la tecnología constituyen herramientas versátiles, útiles y adaptables se afianza en todos los continentes. Elegir una carrera STEM ya no es solo una estrategia individual para mejorar la empleabilidad: es, para muchos jóvenes, una manera de conectar con los desafíos globales y contribuir activamente al bienestar colectivo.
Desde aprender a programar hasta investigar soluciones para el cambio climático o desarrollar inteligencia artificial ética, las ciencias y la tecnología dejan de ser opciones de nicho para consolidarse como el nuevo lenguaje común de la juventud mundial.
Hoy, los adolescentes que apuestan por STEM no solo buscan transformarse a sí mismos, sino también transformar el mundo que heredan y en el que desean dejar huella.
INTERNACIONAL
Ni hombres, ni estrés, ni presiones sociales: las comunidades 100% femeninas florecen en China
Las causas
El Espacio Imaginativo de Keke», en Hangzhou, provincia de Zhejiang, este de China. Foto AFP
Yang Yun (izq.), fundadora de un espacio de convivencia femenina llamado «Her Space», viendo un programa de televisión con invitados en Hangzhou, provincia de Zhejiang, al este de China. Foto AFP
El boom global de las carreras STEM: adolescentes eligen ciencia y tecnología para construir su futuro
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