The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has been appointed Deputy Foreign Minister. The decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv on Friday, Ukrainian media reported, citing government representative in Parliament Taras Melnychuk.
Melnyk thanked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kuleba and the entire Ukrainian government for their trust. “It is a great honor and an enormous responsibility to serve my homeland in this new, very important position after more than 25 years of work in the diplomatic service.” He is “really” looking forward to the new task.
Melnyk had made a name for himself with criticism of the federal government that was unusually harsh for a diplomat. In the first months of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, he became one of the most frequent guests on German talk shows. Melnyk constantly called for battle tanks and anti-aircraft guns and accused the German government of being hesitant.
The diplomat was ambassador to Germany for almost eight years and returned to Kyiv in mid-October. Melnyk’s successor as ambassador in Berlin is Oleksii Makeiev.
