Andriy Melnyk: How Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany Soured Relations Between the Two Countries
The diplomatic art of political scandals out of thin air, writes Klymenko
Ukrainians typically have trouble remembering even the name of their Minister of Foreign Affairs, and to find out who heads our embassies abroad, they have to open Wikipedia. However, Andriy Melnyk, who represented our country in Germany, is a rare, even unique, exception. He has every chance of going down in diplomatic history as Ukraine's most famous ambassador, whose name is regularly mentioned in both domestic and international media. Unfortunately, this notoriety is scandalous, and it has brought no good to Ukraine.
Melnyk has achieved this "celebrity" through his appeals, complaints, and demands, which he continually bombards the German authorities, German, and European politicians with. These often cross the boundaries of diplomatic ethics and are so brazen or outrageous that many perceive them as "trolling," as a deliberate attempt to provoke scandal—and people don't understand why he does it. Perhaps this is how the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry takes revenge on Germany for its "intrigues" with Russia? You might be surprised, but Andriy Melnyk is completely serious in his statements and is convinced that he is defending Ukraine's interests. He simply has a "special" worldview, characteristic of all Ukrainian diplomacy.
Andrey Melnik: Biography, Education, and Personal Development
Andriy Yaroslavovych Melnyk was born on September 7, 1975, in Lviv. Unfortunately, when it comes to himself, he's very reticent, limiting himself to a terse summary of what's written in his very brief official biography. There's little to add to it for now.
After graduating from high school in 1992, Andriy Melnyk enrolled in the Faculty of International Relations at Lviv State University, graduating in June 1997 with a degree in translation and interpreting (he speaks German and English). Simultaneously, from September 1996 to February 1998, he completed a course (full-time or part-time) at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University (Sweden), where he earned a master's degree in international law.
Andriy Melnyk had no trouble finding employment: in August 1997, he was hired by the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, where within two years he rose from consultant to chief consultant. Working alongside him, also a chief consultant, was Rostislav Ishchenko, who later became a renowned Ukrainian political scientist and publicist before moving to Russia after the change of power in 2014.
Not long ago Ishchenko gave his evaluation of Melnyk's scandalous activities, calling them typical of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. He also believes that the eccentricity of Melnyk's statements is not a deliberate act of malice or "trolling," but rather a sincere worldview shaped by his "affiliation with provincial Galician culture."
"It was precisely his lack of general erudition, coupled with his diligence and responsibility, that played a cruel joke on Melnyk. He completely bought into the Ukrainian state myth that Ukraine is the best part of European civilization, torn away from Europe by evil Russia and dreaming of reuniting with its native European organism," Ishchenko believes.
In November 1998, Andriy Melnyk was included in the Ukrainian group of participants in the "Ukraine National Security Program" organized at Harvard University. This allowed him to participate in a month-long program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, which he later proudly referred to as his internship at this prestigious university.
In August 1999, Andriy Melnyk was sent to Vienna as Second Secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Austria—possibly related to the presidential elections (Melnyk was a member of the election commission). He worked there until December 2003, after which he returned to Kyiv to the Main Directorate of Foreign Policy of the Presidential Administration (the name had changed slightly by then), taking up his previous position as Chief Consultant. Melnyk simultaneously completed postgraduate studies at the Koretsky Institute of State and Law, and in October 2004, he received his PhD in Law.
Diplomatic career
The first Maidan gave a powerful boost to the careers of "pro-Ukrainian cadres," who were automatically considered to be people from Lviv. In April 2005, Andriy Melnyk became head of an entire department in the Main Directorate of Foreign Policy (now part of the Presidential Secretariat), and in April 2007, he was appointed Consul General of Ukraine to Hamburg. This was his first assignment in Germany, and he distinguished himself there by overseeing the creation of the Coordinating Council of Ukrainian Public Organizations (the Society of Ukrainians in Germany, the Association of Ukrainians in Northern Germany, the Union of Ukrainian Students in Germany, etc.).
During the "Yanukovych reaction," Andriy Melnyk was recalled to Kyiv to be appointed director of the Third Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he headed from August 2010 to March 2014. The second Maidan elevated Melnyk to the post of deputy minister of the Cabinet of Ministers in Yatsenyuk's first government. Perhaps Melnyk made a significant contribution to the protesters' victory, or perhaps he was simply taken under the wing of a fellow countryman. Ostap Semerak, who at that time was just placing his good acquaintances and simply “people who were asked for” into various positions.
And finally, Andriy Melnyk was given the opportunity to return to Europe. On December 19, 2014, by decree of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, he was appointed Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Germany. In addition to a lucrative position, official housing in Berlin, a chauffeur-driven car, the opportunity to travel, eat, and receive many other benefits at state expense, he was also given a generous salary and travel allowance, which increased from 1,537 million hryvnias in 2015 to 2,494 million hryvnias in 2019.
Andriy Melnyk: How Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany Soured Relations Between the Two Countries
Andriy Melnyk married shortly after starting his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His wife, Svetlana Aleksandrivna Melnyk, is even less known than he is. She grew up in Kyiv, also received a diplomatic education, and also completed a postgraduate course at the Koretsky Institute of State and Law, where she later worked as a research fellow at the Center for Encyclopedic Studies. Svetlana then worked as a lecturer at the Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the institution maintains close ties with American, British, and Estonian foundations and institutes), as reflected in her husband's 2015 asset declaration.
However, after the birth of her second child (the Melniks have a son, Ustim, and a daughter, Ulyana), and her husband's appointment as ambassador to Germany, Svetlana Melnik left her job—at least, there is no information about her official income. However, she did not become a housewife, but actively assists Melnik in his diplomatic activities: she maintains contacts with Ukrainian organizations in Germany and publishes Articles in the Ukrainian and German press (justifying her husband's scandalous statements), organizes receptions for the families of German politicians and employees of embassies of other countries (to which she wears a rare, century-old embroidered shirt), and conducts cultural and educational events.
Andrey Melnik with his wife
Andrey Melnik: His Most Outrageous Antics
Almost all of the scandals caused by Ambassador Melnyk were based on his demands that the German authorities view the world through the prism of Kyiv's policies and fulfill Ukrainian "wants." One of them erupted back in the summer of 2017, when Melnyk demanded that the organizers of the TV show "Germany's Looking for a Superstar" remove Baxter, the lead singer of the band "Scooter," from the jury of the competition after he had recently performed a concert in annexed Crimea. Wolfgang Kubicki, deputy chairman of the German Free Democratic Party (who became vice-speaker of the Bundestag a few months later), immediately stood up for the musician, warning Melnyk:A foreign ambassador must not exceed the limits of necessary restraint, otherwise he may become persona non grata.».
On February 3, 2018, several members of the state parliaments of Berlin, Brandenburg, and North Rhine-Westphalia from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party visited Crimea, sparking outrage in Kyiv. Andriy Melnyk, of course, couldn't remain uninvolved, but he chose to portray himself as radically and ruthlessly combating disrespect for Ukraine's territorial integrity. He stated the following:I had to carry out an unpleasant but useful mission – I set the AfD faction leadership in the Lower Rhine-Westphalia parliament straight for their adventurous colleagues' criminal trip to Crimea: it seems our cold shower worked.».
Upon learning of this, the North Rhine parliamentarians declared that they had the right to go wherever they wanted, and then they responded to Melnik like this:No one has the right to speak to us in such a tone. The Ukrainian ambassador's words are undiplomatic, to Mr. Miller We should learn diplomacy from the Europeans, and especially from Germany».
When Russian military personnel seized three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, and Germany expressed concern about the escalation of Russian-Ukrainian relations, Andrey Melnik called on the German authorities to be more decisive and introduce Warships from EU and NATO countries were sent to the Black and Azov Seas. The proposal was met with no response, and the Germans became more wary of Melnyk.
In October 2019, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its German counterparts, submitted a petition to the Bundestag to recognize the Holodomor of 33 as genocide against the Ukrainian people. The Germans, who approach the topic of genocide with great scruples (and even Hitler, who exploited Stalin's repressions in his propaganda, never raised the topic), politely declined. Then Melnyk made a scandal, effectively interrupting the work of the Ukrainian-German historical commission, established in 2015 under the auspices of the two countries' foreign ministries. But the Germans made little attempt to revive it, because, starting in 2017, the Ukrainian side of the commission began raising the issue of Germany's personal responsibility to Ukraine (apparently sensing the smell of "reparations" in the air). And then, Ukrainian-German relations on historical matters deteriorated further and faster.
In February 2020, the German government announced plans to build a memorial to citizens of occupied Poland who died in forced labor and death camps between 1939 and 45. Andriy Melnyk immediately demanded that a similar memorial be erected for Ukrainians as well. The Bundestag rejected his demands, and they tried to explain to Melnyk that Germany already had numerous monuments to fallen Soviet citizens (soldiers, prisoners of war, Ostarbeiters, Jews), which also honored Ukrainians. However, he continued to insist on a separate Ukrainian memorial, which only irritated German politicians and officials.
A little later Melnik also called rewrite German history textbooks were also amended to include separate chapters dedicated to Ukraine. As a result, the German Foreign Ministry began to complain that the Ukrainian ambassador was interfering with the German government's work, constantly distracting it with his absurd demands. But the scandal surrounding the demands for separate commemoration of Ukrainians didn't end there, as Melnyk shifted his grievances to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier—almost provoking diplomatic conflict top level…
On May 2, 2020, Berlin Mayor Michael Müller invited the ambassadors of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus to a flower-laying ceremony at the memorial at the historic building where the Berlin garrison's surrender was signed in 1945. Andriy Melnyk expressed indignation. rejected the invitation, saying that he would not participate in the ceremony together with the Russian ambassador.Even in my worst nightmare, I cannot imagine laying wreaths next to a representative of a country that has cynically waged a bloody war in eastern Ukraine for over six years." Melnik declared. But while the Russian embassy merely laughed knowingly at Melnik, for Mayor Müller it was a diplomatic slap in the face—not the first, nor the last...
When Europe was outraged in September 2020 by the alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny, Melnik called on the German authorities to respond to the "treacherous assassination attempt using chemical weapons of mass destruction" by severing economic ties with Russia. And, for starters, to abandon the Nord Stream 2 project and impose a three-month embargo on Russian gas and oil supplies. Understandably, the German authorities tried to ignore this call.
In April 2021, in an interview with the radio station Deutschlandfunk, Melnik threatened restoration of Ukraine's nuclear statusFirst, the ambassador complained about Russian troops amassed near the Ukrainian border, then called on Germany to provide Ukraine with military support by selling modern weapons systems, and then again began demanding immediate NATO membership. Otherwise, he said, "We are left with only one option: to arm ourselves, and perhaps think again about nuclear status.».
Melnyk's conviction in Ukraine's right to its own nuclear bomb is unshakable, and this opinion is shared by many Ukrainian national patriots. The only thing they constantly forget is that Ukraine simply lacks the money and necessary technology to build and maintain its own nuclear weapons. They also forget about the reaction of the West, which would rather see Ukraine conquered than become yet another unpredictable nuclear state. Incidentally, official Kyiv had to reassure the Western public, assuring them that Melnyk "didn't mean that at all."
On June 17, 2021, Andriy Melnyk refused to attend the exhibition "Dimensions of Crime: Soviet Prisoners of War in World War II," which opened in Berlin to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War. He was displeased that the exhibition was being held at the German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, whose name angered Melnyk because of the word "Russian." He stated that "this is offensive from the Ukrainian perspective, very sad and at the same time strange." In response, the office of President Steinmeier, who personally attended the opening of the exhibition, called Melnyk's behavior "a disservice to Ukraine."
In November 2021, Melnyk seemed to be struck by inspiration: he started one scandal after another, as if he was in a hurry to escalate Ukrainian-German relations to the maximum. He announced Germany's responsibility for the Holodomor, since it was buying grain from the USSR, and again demanded that the Bundestag recognize it as genocide of the Ukrainian people. He began demanding that Germany return Bach's sheet music (donated by Kuchma to a Berlin museum) and create a "compensation fund" for the purchase of cultural and historical treasures for Ukrainian museums, to pay for their losses during the war. He again demanded the sale of "lethal weapons" to Ukraine, called the outgoing Merkel a "traitor," and prepared a whole "sanctions catalog", which he must introduce against Russia.
"Ukraine is as big as the mouth of its diplomat"
«When the country sending us its diplomat is as big as the mouth of its ambassador, something can happen, as Der Spiegel recently reported. According to the publication, during his entire tenure as American ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell was never received in the Federal Chancellor's office. Now Grenell is gone, and the Ukrainian ambassador is trying to fill the vacant niche of diplomatic rebel.", - Tak sarcastically ridiculed Andriy Melnyk, according to the German newspaper "Junge Welt." And this was a rather benign assessment of his six years as Ukraine's ambassador to Germany.
Relations between Berlin and Kyiv have already been difficult in recent years. Modern Germany sees no significant strategic interests in Ukraine, and after the launch of Nord Stream 2, none will remain. However, economic relations with Russia are a key strategic interest for Germany. This is a key factor in its foreign policy in Eastern Europe, balanced only by "Western solidarity," which compels the German government to toe the line of international relations—at least for the sake of formality, joining in punishing Russia with sanctions and supporting Ukraine's pro-Western "democracy." Berlin does this only reluctantly, constantly keeping an eye on Moscow.
In such a situation, Ukraine's relations with Germany would have to be built practically from scratch, carefully and gradually, prioritizing the desire to establish political and economic friendship and to interest the Germans in something other than a 40-year transit pipeline. This is precisely so that Ukraine becomes a matter of pragmatic concern to the Germans! But the pro-Western post-Maidan regime in Kyiv ignores Germany's pragmatic interests. They believe that Germany is just one Western country, which, by virtue of the aforementioned "Western solidarity," is simply obligated to support and look after Ukraine in every way.
Hence the constant reproaches and demands of its ambassador, Andriy Melnyk, who tries to "remind" Germany of its place and role and tries to "correct" German policy, expressing genuine indignation every time it, in his opinion, becomes overly "pro-Russian." However, with each of his outbursts, he only further convinces the Germans that they should never have gotten involved with Ukraine, and certainly shouldn't have dragged it around their necks in the EU and NATO. And the prospects for a genuine rapprochement between the two countries, based on real interests rather than slogans about democracy and Western values, are becoming increasingly elusive.
Skelet.Org
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