Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak , whose residence was searched earlier in the day by anti-corruption investigators.

Yermak has been Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the United States. He has also been a trusted confidante of Zelenskyy’s for years.

The unprecedented searches at the heart of Ukraine’s government come at a time when Kyiv is under intense U.S. pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia invaded.

Two national agencies fighting entrenched corruption in Ukraine said their searches targeted Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesperson for Yermak, said the anti-graft agencies had not served Yermak a notice of suspicion, meaning he was not a suspect in a

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