Zelensky fires ambassador after ‘kill Russians’ remarks
A Ukrainian diplomat who made the case for killing “as many Russians as possible” in an interview has been fired from the position of ambassador to Kazakhstan.
President Vladimir Zelensky ordered the dismissal of Pyotr Vrublevsky on Tuesday, according to a decree published on his website. He did not immediately appoint a replacement.
Vrublevsky stirred controversy in August when he gave an interview to a Kazakh video blogger. When asked about the situation in Ukraine at the time, he said:
“What can I say? … We are trying to kill as many [Russians] as possible. The more Russians we kill now, the fewer our children will have to. That’s it.”
The remarks angered officials in Kazakhstan, which has a large ethnic Russian minority. Critics accused the Ukrainian envoy of inciting hatred in the country. He reportedly apologized for his words after being summoned to the Foreign Ministry, and later went on vacation.
Earlier this month, Moscow expressed concern about Vrublevsky’s presence in Kazakhstan. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the man continued serving as the head of the Ukrainian Embassy in Astana, and noted that this went against assurances made by Kazakhstan that the diplomat would be ousted.
Kazakhstan said Vrublevsky would leave as soon as his replacement is sent, and denied that it was engaging with him in his official capacity. Astana declined to expel the man.
It may take months for Kiev to replace the diplomat, as the recent example of the former Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin shows. Andrey Melnik became notorious for using abrasive language when speaking about German officials and other public figures.
Zelensky recalled Melnik in July, a week after the diplomat falsely claimed in an interview that Ukrainian nationalist forces were not involved in the ethnic cleansing of Jews and Poles during World War II.
He remained in the position until last Friday, his last day in charge of the embassy in Berlin. He left “with head held high,” Melnik said in his parting remarks.
