Zelensky dismisses several ambassadors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed several of Kiev’s top envoys abroad on Saturday, including the country’s ambassador to Germany.
In a decree that did not give any reason for the action, the Ukrainian head of state announced the dismissal of Ukraine’s ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.
Zelensky has urged diplomats to secure international support and military aid for Ukraine as it tries to fend off a February Russian invasion.
Kiev’s relations with Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies and also Europe’s largest economy, are particularly sensitive.
Andriy Melnyk, who was appointed by Zelensky’s predecessor as ambassador to Germany in late 2014, is well-known among politicians and diplomats in Berlin.
He once accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of behaving like a “liver sausage” when the German refused Zelensky’s invitation to visit Kiev.
Kiev and Berlin are currently at loggerheads over a German-made turbine undergoing maintenance in Canada.
Germany wants Ottawa to return the turbine to Russian natural gas giant Gazprom to pump gas to Europe. But Kiev has asked Canada to keep the turbine, saying sending it to Russia would be a violation of sanctions imposed on Moscow.