With all eyes on Alaska for President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s right-hand man Andriy Yermak’s profile is rising, but not always for the right reasons.

As the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, he will likely be by Zelenskyy’s side once Trump calls following his meeting with Putin. 

“Yermak is convinced that he’s got all the answers, even though, quite frankly, he often doesn’t,” a former senior official in the Biden administration told Fox News Digital.

His influence is considered second only to Zelenskyy, and he has even been accused of making personnel moves that not even Zelenskyy is fully aware of. 

Personal loyalty is one aspect of Yermak’s character and power projection that all officials who spoke to Fox News Digital confirmed was most important.

Volodymyr Ariev, a member of the Ukrainian Rada with the European Solidarity political party, told Fox News Digital that Yermak has built up a power base that consists of loyalists and individuals who lack professionalism.

“Yermak is willing to be a top person in diplomacy, but at the same time, I don’t think he is very effective, especially in relations between United States and Ukraine, and he has become a bipartisan irritant,” Ariev said.

He claimed that officials on both sides of the Atlantic lack trust in Yermak.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left, shakes hands with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, right, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Zelenskyy, Rudolph and others argued, is better when he takes counsel from other sources.

“Zelenskyy has achieved better results when listening directly to his peers on the world stage, like President Trump and the European leaders, whether it relates to his readiness to accept an unconditional ceasefire or the backtrack on undermining the anti-corruption institutions,” Rudolph said.

Zelenskyy took calls from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron as soon as the crisis over the independence of the anti-corruption institutions blew up.

The president ultimately listened to their direct pleas and promised them that he would fix the situation, which he then promptly did.

Yermak’s role as Zelenskyy’s most trusted advisor will be put to the test as Russia continues to make steady gains on the battlefield with intense international pressure mounting for a ceasefire.