The ongoing trial of Andriy Yermak, once regarded as the second-most powerful figure in Ukraine, has taken a sensational turn in Kyiv. According to a special political report published by The Telegraph, prosecutors allege that the former chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky sought the secret counsel of a fortune teller during periods of intense political turmoil. Court documents reveal that the mystic explicitly urged the top presidential aide to eliminate his political enemies. The dramatic revelations have captivated the wartime nation, shifting public attention from the core financial corruption charges to the bizarre details found within Yermak`s encrypted mobile communications.
During a comprehensive court hearing on Thursday, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor`s Office revealed that a contact saved in Yermak`s phone as "Veronika Feng Shui" was a prominent local astrologer. Prosecutors asserted that while serving under the protection of the presidency, Yermak systematically shared the exact birth dates of both his political allies and adversaries with the mystic. He allegedly sought her spiritual and tactical guidance on how to handle independent anti-corruption officials, investigative journalists, and rival politicians who challenged his administrative authority. The fortune teller has been formally identified by authorities as fifty-one-year-old Kyiv resident Veronika Anikievich.
The prosecution presented digital text messages where Anikievich actively influenced top governmental decisions, extending her advice to the appointment of the prime minister of Ukraine. In one encrypted message, she warned Yermak that if he failed to halt his opponents, they would inevitably seize total state power, describing the situation as a zero-sum battle for survival. Investigative journalists from Radio Svoboda subsequently discovered that Anikievich`s father is a citizen of the Russian Federation who previously led a district branch of a pro-Russian political party in the Kherson Oblast. Court records show she maintained a separate mobile device exclusively for her high-level communications with the presidential office.
Yermak has firmly denied all allegations concerning the fortune teller, stating to the court that while he knows several individuals named Veronika, he never communicated with mystics. The explosive revelations prompted an immediate and sharp clarification from the presidential administration. Dmytro Lytvyn, an official adviser to President Zelensky, released a public statement confirming that esotericism, numerology, and feng shui are strictly non-existent practices within the President`s Office. President Zelensky, whose domestic standing has been repeatedly tested by wartime corruption scandals, has declined to issue a personal comment regarding his former confidant`s legal predicament.
The court ultimately ruled to place Yermak into pre-trial detention for a period of sixty days unless he can successfully post a bail of 140 million hryvnia, equivalent to approximately 2.4 million British pounds. Yermak, who arrived at the courthouse wearing a formal suit decorated with a Ukrainian flag badge, claimed he did not possess such a massive sum of money and announced his intention to appeal the judicial verdict. Aside from the mystical allegations, prosecutors maintain that Yermak successfully laundered vast amounts of state funds through the illegal development of an upscale housing estate located on the outskirts of Kyiv.
