Where Zaluzhnyi disappeared from public space between appointments: what is known
23 April 2024 11:11
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
After his dismissal, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi completely disappeared from the public sphere. on 7 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the “launch of the appointment procedure” for the appointment of Valeriy Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Immediately afterwards, all talk of the high-profile “appointment” died down, as did the news about Zaluzhnyi. Komersant Ukrainsky 
found out what the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does between appointments.
Zaluzhnyi’s Facebook page had only one single post about the war and UAVs during this period. He has never commented on his future position as ambassador to the UK.
Over the weekend, it became known that Zaluzhnyi had received an agrimand from the UK to be appointed ambassador. However, this was not announced by General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi personally, but by politician and former military officer Yuriy Lutsenko on Channel 5.
He pointed out that the decision to dismiss Zaluzhnyi was purely political, as no one has yet explained the reasons for his dismissal.
Lutsenko expects that Zaluzhnyi will be officially appointed ambassador by presidential decree in the near future.
According to him, Zaluzhnyi has already passed all the checks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is now forming the team of the new embassy.
To date, the public has not heard confirmation of Lutsenko’s words from Zaluzhnyi or Zelenskyi. The retired general has not yet commented on his diplomatic appointment.
According to Kommersant Ukrayinsky all this time between his appointments, Iron General Zaluzhnyi was intensively working on improving his English. The same information was also published on his official website by former MP Ihor Mosiychuk.
“I spoke to a friend, a soldier who is directly related to and is part of the entourage of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny. Zaluzhnyi is now actively taking English lessons. He is preparing to go to Britain as an ambassador. I am disappointed. My comrade says: – What did you expect? Valeriy Fedorovich is an officer… He can’t slam the table. The commander-in-chief gave him an order: – Є! And he is preparing to go to Britain,”
– ihor Mosiychuk said in his video.
Sources of Kommersant Ukrainian sources say that Zaluzhnyi started studying English intensively in the autumn of 2023.
As of now, the general is taking preparatory courses required for diplomatic work.
“Appointment” in violation of the procedure
The procedure for appointing the head of a diplomatic mission is called accreditation and consists of several stages:
- selection of the ambassador’s candidacy – competition;
- request for a letter of appointment;
- issuance of an act of domestic law – approval of the host country;
- simultaneous (in both capitals) official announcement of the appointment in the media;
- issuance of credentials.
In the situation with Valeriy Zaluzhny, the first two points have been violated. It is not known whether there was a competition for this position. But the most unacceptable thing in the field of diplomacy was that the “appointment” of Valeriy Zaluzhnyi as ambassador to the UK became known before the UK itself had agreed to it.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that the British side learned about Zaluzhny’s appointment as ambassador to the UK from the media. President Zelenskyy announced the decision before the UK officially agreed.
The request for an ambassadorial letter, in fact, for approval of the ambassador’s candidacy, was sent after everyone had learned about Zelenskyy’s decision to change the scope of activities for the dismissed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Although, according to the established norms of diplomacy, such an appointment becomes known only from an official order published simultaneously by the two countries.
It is worth noting that in July 2023, Zelensky dismissed Vadym Prystaiko from the post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.
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