The congression with Ukrainian roots Victoria Spartz said that the head of the Office of Zelensky Andrei Ermak could be connected with Russia. Kyiv said that this is "Russian propaganda"

On July 8, a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Victoria Spartz said that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrei Ermak may be associated with the Russian authorities. She reported this in a letter ( .pdf ) sent by US President Joe Biden.

Spartz asked the White House to help Congress in his investigation and provide data on checks conducted by the American authorities regarding Yermak. “Based on various intelligence, the actions of Mr. Ermak in Ukraine and his possible connections with Russia, Congress needs to urgently receive this information in order to confirm or refute various serious allegations,” said Spartz. In the open part of the letter, specific “serious statements” are not mentioned.

On July 9, the representative of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko wrote in social networks that the actions and statements of Victoria Spartz "are an undisguised attempt to return to American politics the classic narratives of Russian propaganda about the supposedly relations of the leadership of Ukraine with Russia and draw our state into the domestic policy of the United States."

The representative of the Foreign Ministry advised Spartz not to try to “earn an additional political capital on unreasonable speculations around the topic of war” in Ukraine. Nikolenko believes that Spartz, with his actions, seeks to tighten the sending of American military assistance to Ukraine, to which "they only count in the Kremlin." “The manipulations regarding Ukraine and its leadership by the congression of Ukrainian origin look especially cynical,” he added.

Victoria Spartz, in response, called on the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry instead of attacks and insults to treat her statement “with the seriousness that questions about Mr. Ermaka demand.” The American politician listed several serious accusations brought against Yermak, and invited the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine personally to answer them. Among them:

• a leak of information on the special operation of Ukraine to detain the fighters of the Wagner group in Minsk in 2020 ;
• bad leadership of unsuccessful negotiations with Russia before the war;
• Attempts to convince Ukraine’s authorities that Russia will not attack the country in February, despite the data of Western special services;
• the loss of the Kherson region and its occupation by Russian troops;
• tightening of urgent purchases of military equipment through the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the nomination of unreasonable or even illegal conditions;
• Pulling through his deputy Oleg Tatarov to the appointment of an independent anti -corruption prosecutor.

“I know that the President of Zelensky is waging a dangerous war with an insidious enemy. He spends a lot of time creating international support to protect his country, but he has a constant internal problem that he must solve - the head of the president’s office Andrei Ermak, ”said Spartz.

The press secretary of the President of Ukraine Sergey Nikiforov said that if Victoria Spartz has evidence of the charges, then let it provide them. According to him, so far, besides the accusations, the Ukrainian side has not heard anything.

Andrei Ermak and Vladimir Zelensky, as well as representatives of the Russian authorities, have not yet commented on what happened.