Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, fired his ambassador to Germany, every week after the diplomat gave an interview during which he defended the legacy of a World War II nationalist chief who collaborated with the Nazis.
Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin since 2014, was probably the most acknowledged faces of the Ukrainian trigger in Germany, by no means shying away from leveling fierce criticism of what many noticed as Germany’s gradual response to the Russian invasion and infrequently frightening the ire of the nation’s political elite.
But in an interview on the present Jung & Nai, which streamed on YouTube on June 29, Mr. Melnyk defended the reminiscence of Stepan Bandera, the chief of the far-right Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists throughout World War II. The nationalist group, which espoused fascist ideology, collaborated with German forces after they occupied Ukraine and a few of these forces assisted within the mass murders of Poles and Jews.
Mr. Bandera was circuitously concerned within the killings, as a result of he was arrested in Ukraine in 1941 and positioned in “honorable internment” by the Nazis in a focus camp exterior Berlin for making an attempt to determine an unbiased Ukraine. Assassinated by Soviet spies in Munich in 1959, Mr. Bandera remains to be revered by part of the Ukrainian inhabitants for his management of the nationalist trigger, significantly within the west, the place there are statues of Mr. Bandera and streets named after him.
But in Germany, which prides itself on its dedication to acknowledging Nazi crimes and commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, questioning that chapter in historical past is a pink line.
Mr. Melnyk already raised eyebrows in Germany a number of years earlier for visiting Mr. Bandera’s grave in Munich. When confronted within the June 29 interview concerning the historical past of the OUN’s position in massacres, and Mr. Bandera’s anti-Semitic views, Mr. Melnyk stated there was no proof for the claims, that are undisputed in educational circles.
“That is the narrative that the Russians are pushing to this day, and that has support in Germany, in Poland, and also in Israel,” he stated.
Mr. Melnyk’s feedback instantly stirred condemnation from German officers, in addition to from Israel’s embassy in Germany. Two ministers in Poland, one among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters because the Russian invasion, additionally decried the statements. That prompted Kyiv to distance itself from Mr. Melnyk, saying his views didn’t symbolize Ukraine’s place.
A fluent German speaker, Mr. Melnyk was identified in Germany for his passionate advocacy for extra weapons for Ukraine to defend itself towards the Russian invasion. He didn’t shrink back from colourful criticism, comparable to calling Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “insulted liverwurst” for delaying a go to to Kyiv within the spring. The German expression, which loosely interprets into being a prima donna, outraged a lot of Germany’s political institution. But it received him avid supporters in Germany amongst these pissed off with their nation’s sluggish help.
Despite the frequent controversies stirred by Mr. Melnyk’s feedback, he had been seen as an asset to elevating consideration to Ukraine in a rustic the place pacifist leanings throughout the political institution have led to hesitancy in supplying weapons.
On Saturday, Mr. Zelensky introduced Mr. Melnyk’s dismissal together with that of the ambassadors of India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.