(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, as the new head of Ukraine’s delegation for peace talks with Russia, mediated by the United States. The appointment follows the resignation of Zelensky’s influential chief of staff amid a major corruption scandal that has implicated other senior officials.

The president formalized Umerov’s role in a decree released on Friday. On Saturday, Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel that “Umerov and his team are already on their way to the United States.”

Earlier, Chief of Staff Andrey Yermak stepped down following allegations of involvement in a recently uncovered graft scheme at Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear operator, Energoatom, which depends heavily on Western aid. Reports indicate that Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies conducted raids on Yermak’s properties and plan to provide further details in due course.

Before his resignation, Yermak had reportedly been slated to lead Kiev’s delegation in Geneva, according to anonymous sources cited in local media.

The corruption investigation coincides with a 28-point US-backed peace roadmap aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. Authorities say the scheme, allegedly orchestrated by Timur Mindich, a former associate of Zelensky, involved roughly $100 million, and that the main suspect fled Ukraine before being apprehended. Several ministers have also lost their positions in the wake of the revelations.

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