Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky relieved Ambassador Andrey Melnik from his post in a decree signed on Saturday. In recent months, the diplomat has sparked multiple high-profile scandals and even branded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liverwurst.”
No reasoning for the move has officially been provided. Melnik was dismissed from his post alongside several other top diplomats, including the country’s envoys to India, Norway, Finland, and the Czech Republic.
The impending dismissal of Melnik was reported earlier this week by German tabloid Bild, which suggested the diplomat could be set to take up a new post in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, possibly even becoming a deputy foreign minister.