Zelenskyy approves former Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine's ambassador to UK

Tetyana Oliynyk — Thursday, 7 March 2024, 19:18

Valerii Zaluzhnyi being awarded the Hero of Ukraine title on 9 February 2024. Photo: Ukrainian President's Office

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved the candidacy of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has sent a corresponding request to the UK.

Source: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry website; Zelenskyy’s evening address; European Pravda

Quote: "The president of Ukraine approved the candidacy of Valerii Zaluzhnyi as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Thursday, 7 March 2024. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has sent the relevant request for agrément to the UK."

Update: Zelenskyy noted in his evening video address that Zaluzhnyi had spoken to him specifically about a move to diplomacy.

Quote: "Today, I have also approved the candidate for the position of our country's ambassador to the UK. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi told me that this is the direction he would like to take – diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has sent a corresponding request for agrément. Our alliance with Britain should only get stronger."

Details: A European Pravda source within the government had previously mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was positive about Zaluzhnyi's appointment as an ambassador to the UK, but they had advocated waiting a few months so that he could improve his English language skills.

"He [Zaluzhnyi] could be very successful in the UK because he will be well-suited to all the clubs, and that's how politics is done in the UK," the source said.

Previously: The previous ambassador was former Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko, whom Zelenskyy appointed on 20 July 2020. He was dismissed in July 2023 when Zelenskyy made a sarcastic comment after UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace remarked that Ukraine ought to show more gratitude to its allies.

Background:

On 8 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing Valerii Zaluzhnyi from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
President Zelenskyy later appointed Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the need to review military tactics and prevent stagnation on the front was among the reasons Zaluzhnyi had been dismissed.
Asked why General Valerii Zaluzhnyi and key leadership of Ukraine's Armed Forces had been dismissed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was a reboot, restructuring and change of military command management.

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