Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide has quit after his home was searched in an anti-corruption investigation. A former president of Ukraine says only unity can save the nation. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has told an ally he’s still happy to meet Donald Trump. Follow live.
Friday 28 November 2025 16:25, UK
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We’ve just heard from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
He tells Russian state news agency Interfax that Moscow is working on the “assumption” that it is only negotiating with the US – and not Ukraine.
Peskov reportedly adds: “By the time the American delegation arrives in Moscow, we will have information about the agreed-upon points of the peace plan.”
Our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes offers her latest analysis on the resignation of Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.
Speaking from Kyiv, she says that Yermak’s exit will satisfy some.
However, she warns that the Ukrainian leader is now without his right-hand man.
Watch her analysis here…
We’re able to bring you a bit more now on the news that Zelenskyy’s chief of staff has resigned.
The Ukrainian president has now signed the decree officially dismissing his top aide.
He first announced the news in a post on Telegram. Here’s what he said in full:
“We are now preparing for a meeting with the American side to discuss the steps needed to secure a genuine peace, and one that is worthy of our people.
“At a time when all attention is fixed on diplomacy and on defending the country during the war, we must draw on our inner strength… and for that inner strength to hold, there must be no distractions from anything other than the defence of Ukraine. I want there to be no doubts about our country, from anyone.
“That is why today brings the following internal decisions.
“First, the president’s office of Ukraine will undergo a full reboot. Its head, Andrii Yermak, has tendered his resignation. I am grateful to Andrii for consistently presenting Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table exactly as it ought to be presented. His stance has always been staunchly patriotic.
“However, I want to avoid any rumours or needless speculation. As for the future head of the Office, tomorrow I will hold consultations with those who may be suited to lead this institution.”
Watch Zelenskyy speaking here…
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his chief of staff Andrii Yermak has resigned.
It comes after anti-corruption investigators raided Yermak’s home earlier today.
The Ukrainian leader has also announced a reshuffle of his presidential office as a result of Yermak’s departure.
Zelenskyy announced that Yermak had submitted his resignation in a video shared on Telegram. With it, he said the following:
“Russia really wants Ukraine to make mistakes. There will be no mistakes on our part.”
The former president of Ukraine has just told Sky News its land is not for sale “for any price” (see our previous post).
But who is Petro Poroshenko?
The fifth president of Ukraine, Poroshenko was in office from 2014 to 2019, when he lost the last presidential election to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a landslide.
His time in office featured conflict with Russia throughout – he was elected two months after the illegal annexation of Crimea, was in charge during Russian offensives in the Donbas region, and martial law was declared in 2018 over the threat of “full-scale war” with Russia.
Poroshenko also passed a number of reforms to tackle corruption – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which is now investigating alleged corruption in the energy sector, was established in 2014 under his presidency.
Before coming to power, Poroshenko was a businessman and created the UkrPromInvest (Ukrainian Industry and Investment Company).
He was listed as a billionaire by Forbes in March 2012. Years later, he denied tax avoidance after it emerged he was named in the Paradise and Panama Papers.
Poroshenko was first elected to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) in 1998, before later becoming foreign minister in 2009, and campaigning to be elected president after protests and uprisings in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014.
Speaking last Saturday, Donald Trump warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine that they would have to accept his newly proposed peace plan.
At the time, the plan contained 28 points. The proposal caused alarm in Ukraine and among its allies, as it would have handed swathes of land to Russia and slashed the size of Kyiv’s army.
Ukraine was given until Thanksgiving – yesterday in the US – to accept the plan, but a lot has changed since then.
And our expert isn’t optimistic they’ll be a real breakthrough – here’s a recap of how we got here, and what could come next…
‘He’ll have to like it’
When the initial 28-point US plan was first revealed, Zelenskyy warned: “Now is one of the most difficult days in our history.”
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner” – ie the US – Zelenskyy said.
But Trump dismissed the Ukrainian’s concerns, telling reporters: “He’ll have to like it… at some point, he’s going to have to accept something.”
During a flurry of diplomatic developments in Geneva on Sunday, European allies of Kyiv produced counterproposals.
What next?
Negotiations are still ongoing, with Trump dispatching officials to both Ukraine and Russia this week.
The ball now seems to be in Moscow’s court, as it’s yet to formally respond to the counterproposal, worked on by the US and Ukraine.
But a number of Russian officials have said publicly that its position hasn’t changed, and it won’t be giving concessions.
Peace process likely to ‘run into the sand’
The next week could yet be crucial – but our military analyst Michael Clarke thinks the peace process will fail, as it has done previously.
That’s because Russia won’t give in, he says.
What matters then is who Donald Trump blames – Russia or Ukraine.
And Europe’s actions also matter. If the EU doesn’t act to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine fund its defence, Ukraine is then “in really big trouble”, Clarke says.
Clarke has been speaking in his latest Sky News Q&A – catch up on that using the link below…
Ukraine needs internal and international unity to survive, a former president of the country has just been telling Sky News – and its land is not for sale “for any price”.
Presenter Samantha Washington asked Petro Poroshenko if he feels like Donald Trump is effectively forcing Ukraine to surrender, given some of the clauses in reported peace plans about Ukrainians giving up land.
Poroshenko, who was president from 2014 to 2019, said Ukraine can “never return” to being a “Russian colony”.
He added: “We definitely confirm that Ukrainian territory is not for sale, for any price.”
There can also be no compromise on reports of requirements for the size of Ukraine’s armed forces to be limited, he said.
On Trump specifically, Poroshenko tried to be diplomatic – saying Ukraine had worked well with the US president for years and praised him for bringing in some of the first sanctions against Russia.
But he added negotiations about Ukraine must include Ukraine, and likewise about NATO: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
The first step for peace continues to be a ceasefire, he added.
“Nobody can be against a ceasefire,” he said.
“Russia understands only one language – this is not the Russian language, this is the language of strength,” Poroshenko added.
He also called for more air defences and other assistance for Ukraine.
Poroshenko was also asked about the current corruption scandal in Ukraine – and it was put to him that it was “no secret” he didn’t like the current president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He replied: “Only internal unity can save our nation. Only international unity can save our nation” – while praising anti-corruption institutions, which he said he set up.
There were a record number of drone sightings over German military bases in October, according to a rare comment from a senior intelligence official.
Torsten Akmann, vice president of Germany’s military intelligence service BAMAD, told the Reuters news agency that the focus of drone activity appeared to be the German navy.
“At the moment, it is mainly the navy which is affected (by drone sightings) among the branches of the military,” he said.
Previously, drones had often been spotted over army and air
force bases, including those training Ukrainian troops.
It comes after German police launched a probe into suspected Russian espionage in January, after drones were spotted over several military bases in Bavaria.
Our regular Ukraine Q&A with our military analyst Michael Clarke is live now.
Head to the link below to watch.
And we’ll be here continuing to bring you all the latest updates from the conflict as well.
The growing anti-corruption scandal in Ukraine is the “worst possible thing” for Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the moment, military analyst Michael Clarke has been explaining.
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, is facing raids on his property as part of an anti-corruption probe, as we’ve been reporting.
“This scandal is getting closer” to Yermak, Clarke says, noting he has “been with Zelenskyy for 15 years, he’s very close to him”.
“He knows what Zelenskyy thinks,” Clarke adds. “He negotiates for him, he’s a lawyer by training, and Zelenskyy really relies on him.”
Zelenskyy has even tried to make Yermak prime minister “a couple of times”, Clarke explains, but faced pushback in Ukraine’s parliament.
Watch: Clarke’s take on corruption probe
But while he’s “very, very powerful”, Clarke adds Zelenskyy’s ally is “not very popular in Washington”.
However, Clarke continues that this Ukrainian political turmoil won’t necessarily affect support for the country or the ongoing peace talks.
He says: “This is an internal problem. It doesn’t affect the support for Ukraine outside, technically, but it’s very, very, bad.”
Michael Clarke will join our presenter Kamali Melbourne at 1pm for another instalment of his weekly Q&A.
See the pinned post for details on how you can ask a question.
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