Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, 9 July, that he dismissed several top foreign envoys to Kyiv, including the country’s ambassador to India and Germany, reported Reuters.
Zelenskyy announced that he sacked Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Hungary, and said in a statement that the rotation was a "normal part of diplomatic practice."
He added that new candidates were being trained for the top positions. It is not clear if the existing envoys would be assigned new positions.
Zelenskyy urged his diplomats to increase the financial support of international allies and military aid for the war-torn country.
Andriy Melnyk, Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, was appointed by Zelenskyy's predecessor in 2014.
He is well known among political and diplomatic circles in Berlin; he had slammed politicians and intellectuals on social media for opposing the arming of Kyiv to defend itself against the February 24 Russian invasion.
Kyiv-Berlin Tensions
Kyiv’s relations with Germany are particularly sensitive as Berlin is heavily reliant on Russia’s energy supplies. Both the countries are currently sparring over a German turbine undergoing maintenance in Canada.
Germany had requested Ottawa to return the turbine to Russia to pump gas to Europe, but Kyiv wanted Canada to keep the turbine as it would violate the terms of the global sanctions placed on Moscow.
Canada, meanwhile, has returned the turbine.
(With inputs from Reuters.)
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