The Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan has apologized to his host nation after an interview, in which he justified killing “as many Russians as possible”, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Pyotr Vrublevsky’s apology was reported by a spokesman for the ministry, who described the remark as “unacceptable” and said a formal complaint had been issued to the Ukrainian diplomat.
“He apologized and stated that he was speaking while experiencing serious emotional tension, because there is a war in his home country,” the spokesman, Aibek Smadiyarov, said during a briefing, as cited by local media. He added that Vrublevsky was on a break from work at the moment.
The Ukrainian envoy sparked controversy after being interviewed by a local blogger last month. When asked about the situation in his country, he said:
“What can I say… We are trying to kill as many [Russians] as possible. The more Russians we kill now, the fewer our children will have to. That’s it.”