Among those who could head the President's Office, Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Head of the Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov. The President told reporters on the plane after a meeting with EU leaders in London, Suspilne reports.
At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized the difficulties of such a step, since he considers it critically important to keep these key ministers in their current posts.
"I held consultations. I have options - Minister Shmyhal or Minister Fedorov, but there is a challenge here - because the Verkhovna Rada has to remove them before appointing them... The President's Office is important, but there are other institutions. Who could be instead of Fedorov - I don't know... maybe Mykhailo will find an alternative for himself. It's more difficult with the Ministry of Defense, because the whole budget is the same, responsibility is there, the army is there. Today - this is the number one priority," he told reporters.
According to Zelenskyy, potential candidates also include Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia and Deputy Head of the President's Office Pavlo Palisa. He also clarified that Kyslytsia helps him in the international sphere, but doubted whether the Deputy Foreign Minister wants to move on to domestic issues.
"As for the military, it's Budanov and Palisa. Palisa is a very good military man, but now his priority is war. Budanov heads intelligence, this is an important direction. In any case, for some time I will be able to cope without the head of the office," Zelenskyy said.
According to the President, in the event of a delay in selecting a candidate, he will be able to work without the head of the President's Office.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, former Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andrii Yermak visited the office of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) of Ukraine. He may be preparing to leave the country.
On November 28, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Andrii Yermak was resigning as head of the President's Office.
Shortly before this, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced that they were conducting searches at Yermak's residence.
The next day, November 29, Yermak gave a comment to the New York Post in which he stated that he was "ready for any repression." He also said that he intended to go to the front.
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