Ukrainian ambassador recalled
Ukraine’s ambassador to Portugal Inna Ohnivets has been recalled to Kiev only days after making an impassioned appeal to business leaders to “help rebuild Ukraine” and defiantly stated that her country would “never surrender”.
In a surprising move, Ukrainian leader Vlodymyr Zelensky has removed the ambassador who is popular in diplomatic and business circles in Lisbon along with five others were also removed from their posts.
Citing a presidential decree and according to news published in the Ukrainian press, the ambassador has been removed along with the ambassadors to Georgia,Slovakia, Lebanon, and Iran.
The Ukrainian foreign office has also made ambassadorial appointments to Tajikistan and New Zealand.
Inna Ohnivets has been Kiev’s ambassador to Lisbon since 2015.
The ambassador stated in a communiqué that her recall had been scheduled and that she had been informed about it two days before the announcement. “I can say that this is a planned rotation” she told SIC.
The ambassador addressed business leaders last week at a fund raiser organised by the British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce (BPCC) to help ‘Rebuild Ukraine’ which raised over €7,000.