Zelensky sacks Ukraine's envoy to India, other ambassadors

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he had dismissed several of Kyiv's senior envoys abroad, including the country's outspoken ambassador to Germany.

Zelensky announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary and said new candidates were being readied for the positions.

"This rotation is a normal part of diplomatic practice," he said in a statement.

It was not clear if the envoys would be assigned new positions.

Zelensky has urged his diplomats to drum up international support and military aid for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's Feb. 24 attack.

Kyiv's relations with Germany, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies and also Europe's biggest economy, are particularly sensitive.

Andriy Melnyk, who was appointed by Zelensky's predecessor as ambassador to Germany in late 2014, is well known among politicians and diplomats in Berlin.

The 46-year-old regularly engages in outspoken social media exchanges and has branded politicians and intellectuals who oppose arming Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion as appeasers.

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