Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday removed his powerful chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, after detectives raided his house as part of a sweeping corruption probe.

Yermak's removal deals a serious blow to Zelensky, who is facing a mounting Russian offensive in the east just as the United States, a crucial ally, peddles a plan to end the war that Kyiv fears will hand big concessions to Moscow.

Yermak, 54, was supposed to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine at crunch peace talks in the United States this weekend, a senior official briefed on the matter told AFP, but that plan is now out the window.

Just last week, Zelensky had named Yermak as Ukraine's top negotiator in a vote of confidence despite growing pressure from opposition figures to remove his divisive ch

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