By ignoring calls to supply Kiev with more heavy weaponry Germany has abandoned Ukraine to its fate, former ambassador Andrey Melnik said on Sunday. The outspoken envoy was removed from his position in July following several controversies.
Taking to Twitter, the diplomat, who was fired after a string of contentious remarks – which included jabs at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – accused the German government of putting Kiev on a military “diet.”
“Dear traffic light-colored government [Germany’s ruling coalition], why are the calls issued by your own defense officials demanding that Ukraine gets much more heavy weaponry being ignored? Why is Kiev being abandoned in military terms?” he asked, commenting on an article from the magazine Spiegel on the matter.
Melnik was sacked by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in early July after sparking several controversies. His headline-grabbing remarks including branding the German chancellor an “offended liverwurst” and defending Stepan Bandera, a controversial Ukrainian national hero who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII.
The ex-ambassador insisted that Bandera had not been implicated in the mass murder of Jews and Poles during the war. After criticism from both Poland and Israel, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had to step in, explaining that Melnik’s words did not reflect Kiev’s official position.
Germany has previously supplied Ukrainian forces with thousands of portable anti-tank and anti-air missiles, tens of thousands of anti-tank mines, as well as millions of rounds of ammunition. Berlin also delivered a number of PzH 2000 howitzers, most of which, however, are now reportedly out of service. Kiev has repeatedly criticized Berlin for what it has called a reluctance to send military aid to Ukraine and for a slow pace of deliveries.
Moscow has warned the West on numerous occasions against sending weapons to Kiev, saying it only prolongs the conflict and increases the number of casualties.