KYIV — Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s powerful chief of staff, scrolled through the photos on his cell phone to find a snap of his 77-year-old mother sporting a Ukrainian trident tattoo in the country’s yellow and blue on her upper right arm.
This question of shaky morale pervaded POLITICO’s wide-ranging interview with Yermak, along with discussions of the futility of attempting a negotiated settlement with Russia and Ukrainians’ lack of appetite for a sweeping troop mobilization.
Yermak knew there was no point in sugar-coating the toll that more than two years of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s onslaught have taken — even though he insisted there was still a profound faith that Ukraine would ultimately prevail.
Yermak said more Patriot surface-to-air missiles are also required to defend the front lines, where the Russians are causing massive damage, and some fear tilting the military balance, with aerial guided bombs.
He can be highly diplomatic, and shows his deftness by sidestepping a question about whether Europe should take over from the Americans the leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the 50-nation alliance that coordinates military aid to Kyiv.
The role of Oleh Tatarov has drawn the biggest attention and accusations have swirled that he has the power to close down probes being conducted by the SBU security service with a phone call, says Kaleniuk.
The original article contains 2,057 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 89%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!