Andrii Sybiha Recalls Kyiv’s Representative to Georgia, Dismisses Deputy

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s new foreign minister, has dismissed his deputy and recalled the country’s temporary representative to Georgia while hinting at more internal changes after assuming office on Sept. 5.

Sybiha announced the changes and his future vision for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a Sunday Facebook announcement, after meeting with Ukrainian consuls and ambassadors earlier the same day.

Sybiha filed for the dismissal of his deputy Iryna Borovets and dismissed Ukraine’s Temporary Chargé d’Affaires in Georgia Mykhailo Kharyshyn due to their alleged “complete misunderstanding of the reality of diplomacy of the state at war.”

Earlier in the announcement, Sybiha also hinted at Kharyshyn’s incompetence and lack of initiative in his position.

“The ambassador of Ukraine received very clear criteria [for] the effectiveness of their work. That is, concrete results, courage and [proactiveness]. Ambassadors of countries at war cannot be detached from the realities of war. In connection with this, the decision [was made] to withdraw the temporary representative of Ukraine in Georgia …

“Today, every ambassador must be a playing coach who does not wait for directions from the center, but acts [on his own] initiative, takes responsibility and demonstrates the power of Ukrainian diplomacy by his own example,” Sybiha said.

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Kharyshyn’s profile on the embassy’s website said he was appointed to the post of the temporary chargé d’affaires in Georgia earlier this year.

Tbilisi’s growing links with Moscow, which sparked widespread protests this year, have led to the suspension of US aid to Georgia and the country’s EU accession talks.

In reference to his ministry’s goals under his leadership, Sybiha said the “unconditional priority” was weapons procurement, and that it should “embody the best practices of modern diplomacy” with a focus on “new rhythm, energy and approaches,” which echoed President Volodymyr Zelensky’s stated reasons for the latest government reshuffle.

Sybiha added that initiatives will be taken to attract younger personnel to the ministry, including meeting with and briefing students in Ukraine’s leading universities.

Sybiha was appointed Ukraine’s foreign minister after his predecessor, Dmytro Kuleba, resigned on Sept. 4.

Kuleba’s resignation and Sybiha’s appointment came as part of the Ukrainian government’s recent reshuffle, which saw numerous ministers either resigning, being dismissed, or moved to other ministries.

Zelensky described the reshuffle, the largest since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, as a move to inject “new energy” into the government. However, opposition lawmaker Oleskii Honcharenko has criticized the manner in which the reshuffle took place and asked members of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada why they were allowing themselves to become what he called a rubber-stamping institution as they voted for the new appointments.