Ex-Ukrainian envoy to Germany tears into successor

Ukraine’s former ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnik, has criticized his successor, Alexey Makeev, for being too soft on Berlin regarding weapons supplies for Kiev.

The outspoken diplomat, who now serves as the country’s deputy foreign minister, claimed Makeev should be making more of an effort to ensure that Germany meets more of Ukraine’s demands.

In an interview with Germany’s RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media outlet published on Tuesday, Melnik accused Kiev’s current envoy in Berlin of “trampl[ing] on all that his predecessor achieved with sweat and blood.”

He also referred to a previous clash with Makeev in the German press late last month, when Melnik claimed that Ukraine had managed to steer the debate over weapons deliveries in Germany during his tenure. Speaking to Die Zeit media outlet, the former ambassador lamented that, with Makeev in charge, Kiev has instead been “going with the flow.”

Makeev dismissed the criticism at the time as “unfortunate attacks,” and reminded Melnik that he was no longer ambassador.

The deputy foreign minister has now advised his successor to “take justified criticism from the capital Kiev more seriously, instead of getting nervous in an arrogant fashion and chirping full-throatedly.”

“He should lift his bottom, finally become vociferous on topics essential to [Ukraine’s] survival, such as German fighter jets and warships as well as NATO accession, and deliver results,” Melnik stated.

Back in February, Melnik called on the German government to “cross all self-drawn red lines and to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with all available weapon systems.”

A month prior, he suggested in a tweet that Berlin should hand over one of its submarines for use against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Melnik served as Kiev’s envoy in Berlin from 2015 until July 2022. Following the start of Russia’s military campaign last February, he aggressively made multiple requests for weapons, sometimes resorting to rather undiplomatic language.

He once described Germany’s reluctance to provide Ukraine with tanks as “unf**kingbelievable,” while branding politicians who opposed the move as “Russian assets.”

Melnik also made headlines when he called Olaf Scholz an “offended liverwurst” after the German chancellor took issue with Kiev’s criticisms of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The diplomat’s departure from office last summer was preceded by an interview in which he professed his admiration for Stepan Bandera, a Nazi collaborator considered a hero in Ukraine.

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