Selenskyj withdraws Melnyk: The dismissal is correct - and a chance

Andriy Melnyk got on the nerves of the Germans, but as ambassador in Berlin he rendered services to his country.

Selenskyj withdraws Melnyk: The dismissal is correct - and a chance

Andriy Melnyk got on the nerves of the Germans, but as ambassador in Berlin he rendered services to his country. Nevertheless, the dismissal is correct. His successor can now make known the actual style of Ukrainian foreign policy in Germany.

Of course, Andrij Melnyk is by no means as big a name in Ukraine as he is in Germany. The 46-year-old, who comes from Lviv in western Ukraine and whose appearance fits the cliché of a top diplomat, was well known in Ukraine even before the great Russian invasion. He was quite popular though. Only pro-Russian media criticized his pointed statements. The public mainstream overwhelmingly supported Melnyk.

This was primarily to do with Germany's holding on to the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline even after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the Donbass war in 2014, causing great irritation in Ukraine, sometimes forgetting that Germany of course, despite everything, was and still is one of the absolute main allies of Ukraine. Nevertheless, many Ukrainians got the impression that the federal government was secretly allied with Putin. Last but not least, the work of ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for the Kremlin fueled these stereotypes. Melnyk's sharp demeanor became, for many, an excellent illustration of Ukrainian frustration with Germany.

Political Kyiv was well aware of the ambassador's advantages and disadvantages. However, his media presence was appreciated and that he managed to get the topic of Ukraine into the headlines even when hardly anyone was interested in it. This was all the more true after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. With his style, Melnyk pushed Berlin politics out of their comfort zone. It can be assumed that the German arms deliveries to Kyiv would have been even more complicated without his involvement.

At the same time, the undiplomatic diplomat repeatedly overshot the mark. His portrayal of Ukrainian history during World War II, which downplayed the murders of Jews and Poles, caused a stir. Even if Melnyk doesn't "understand Nazis," as some Russia trolls in Germany claim, he has done Ukraine a disservice with his statements, because they conceal the fact that Ukrainian society has been conducting a debate about the nationalist Stepan Bandera for years .

In addition, his interview with the journalist Tilo Jung triggered a small diplomatic crisis between Ukraine and Poland. His assertion that Ukrainians no longer felt welcome in Germany was also wrong. It was getting to be too much. The decision to replace Melnyk now is therefore the right one and it was about time.

But Melnyk has also earned undisputed merits for his country. Therefore, a promotion to deputy foreign minister, which is already being speculated about, would be quite logical. In any case, he has been the Ukrainian ambassador since 2015 and thus for a comparatively long time. Still, it's unusual for such a well-known ambassador to be changed in the middle of a war. It is questionable whether the 46-year-old is really happy about the promotion. In Germany he had the role of a superstar - albeit one that was not loved by many. In Ukraine, if the relevant reports are correct, he would play a less public role behind a very successful foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

With Kuleba at the helm, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry generally stands for a self-confident foreign policy. For example, he allowed himself to publicly criticize the interference of the G7 ambassadors in his country's internal affairs, which would previously have been unimaginable. Under Kuleba, Ukraine developed from the object to the subject of foreign policy. Nevertheless, Andriy Melnyk's tone and style did not correspond to the new Ukrainian diplomacy, which does not really call a head of government an "offended liverwurst" (for which Melnyk later apologized). His successor could ensure that this is also known in Germany.

Above all, it would be nice if the Germans could now concentrate on the suffering of the Ukrainians - and not on the appearance of an ambassador. Because the German fixation on Melnyk seems a bit exaggerated in relation to the war of aggression to which Ukraine is currently exposed.