Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked his country’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk. This emerged from a decree published by the Office of the President in Kyiv on Saturday.

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In addition to Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassadors to Norway, the Czech Republic, Hungary and India were also dismissed, according to the Presidential Office. The reasons for or future use of diplomats were not stated at first.

A few days ago, there was a change of personnel. According to media reports, Melnyk had to be recalled and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv. The newspaper “Bild”, citing several sources in Kyiv, first reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed this to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Melnyk could become deputy foreign minister, the paper said. This has also been confirmed to Tagesspiegel by diplomatic circles.

referred to as Zelensky Ambassador rotation as part of diplomatic practice

Selenskyj described the withdrawal of Ambassador Andriy Melnyk from Germany as a normal process. “Today I signed a decree dismissing several Ukrainian ambassadors. This rotation issue is a common part of diplomatic practice,” he said in a video message on Saturday, without naming any of the five ambassadors.

“New Ukrainian representatives will be appointed for the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Norway and India,” Zelenskyy said. Candidates will be prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

government policy criticism

Melnyk is known in Germany for his sharp criticism of the policies of the Ukrainian federal government. More recently, he has come under pressure with controversial statements about former nationalist leader Stepan Bandera (1909-1959). Melnyk defended Bandera in an interview and said: “Bandera is not a mass murderer of Jews and Poles.” There is no evidence for that.

Sharp criticism of the statement, among others, came from Poland and the Israeli embassy in Berlin. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Melnyk had stated his personal position, which was not a ministry position.

The shrewd Melnyk then said nothing about it for days, but then responded to the allegations with a tweet on Tuesday. He also emphatically conveyed his words to “dear fellow Jews”. Melnyk spoke of unreasonable accusations, which he categorically denied.

“Everyone who knows me knows: I have always condemned the Holocaust in the strongest terms.” The Nazi crimes of the Holocaust were a common tragedy for both Ukraine and Israel. (dpa)