Zelenskyy selecting new head of President's Office among 6 candidates - media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet decided who will head the President's Office after the resignation of its head Andrii Yermak. According to RBC-Ukraine, six candidates are being considered for the vacant position.

The most talked-about candidates include Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, and Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Pavlo Palisa.

"Three people are those whom the President thought of immediately, and Palisa has shown himself well in his work," the source said.

According to him, the appointment of Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko as the head of the President's Office is unlikely, as the authorities do not want to change the head of the government again.

Another RBC-Ukraine source explains that Zelenskyy plans to focus on foreign policy together with the Foreign Ministry, while the domestic bloc will be handled by the head of the President's Office: "So in any case, it should be a high-level person which the elites will look at."

According to another source, in addition to the four main candidates, there are two less obvious contenders. The final decision is expected no earlier than Wednesday, when the President returns from a business trip abroad.

On November 28, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors conducted searches at the then head of the Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak. He confirmed these actions and said he was cooperating with the investigation. According to RBC-Ukraine, the searches may be related to the Midas case, a large corruption scheme in the energy sector involving businessman and co-owner of Kvartal-95 Tymur Mindich and other former high-ranking officials.