Berlin (AP) – Andriy Melnyk returned home on Saturday evening, just before 8pm. From the border between Poland and Ukraine, he tweets a photo of him, on which in the background you can see a sign in the national colors blue and yellow with the words “Ukraine” and the trident emblem. With the fingers of his right hand, Melnyk shows the V of victory. “Our struggle continues. Ukraine will win. Dear German friends, thank you for everything. And goodbye “, he writes.
With these words Melnyk marks the end of eight years as ambassador to Germany, which he himself and Berlin politics will not soon forget. Some will now be happy that the “nuisance” has finally disappeared. Others may lack the radicalism with which he defended the interests of a country at war against an alleged omnipotent aggressor.
Or not. Because there is a successor. Oleksii Makeiev is expected in Berlin on Monday. In a few days he will be accredited by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. So he can really get started. But how? Turbulent similar to its predecessor? Or in the classic diplomatic way?
With Rammstein and Tote Hosen in Berlin
Before leaving Kiev in the car for Berlin, Makeiev makes it clear that it has little to do with classical music, at least musically. On Twitter he asks to add German-language songs to his playlist for the 15-hour drive to Berlin by car. “Rather something rocky!” he writes him.
Among other things, he downloaded Rammstein’s “Germany”, Toten Hosen’s “Here Comes Alex” and Nena’s “99 Luftballons” as the road trip soundtrack.
Makeiev also speaks excellent German
Makeiev has a lot in common with Melnyk. Both were born in 1975. Both speak excellent German, which is not irrelevant for appearances on talk shows. Both are professional diplomats who, before being seconded to Germany, gained experience in high-ranking positions at the Kiev Foreign Ministry. In 2014 – on the occasion of the Russian annexation of Crimea – Makeiev became political director and therefore the most important adviser to the then foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin. In 2020 he became the special envoy for sanctions against Russia.
Baerbock and Lambrecht already know him
Makeiev has already contacted the new traffic light government. He was there a few weeks ago when Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Verdi) met her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev and confronted the demand for Leopard 2 tanks. She accompanied Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov to Odessa for meet with German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD). There is a photo showing Makeiev talking to the minister in front of the Gepard anti-aircraft tank.
Makeiev taught Melnyk to tweet
Makeiev is as active on Twitter as Melnyk is. He even taught his predecessor to tweet. It was early 2015, when the two flew together to Berlin: Makeiev as political director, Melnyk as potential ambassador. Melnyk claims that his first tweet was born only with the technical assistance of Makeiev. “I’m looking forward to new assignments,” he wrote at the time, referring to his time in Berlin. At that time he only got five “likes”.
Today Melnyk has over 165,000 followers, Makeiev just over 22,000. The number is set to skyrocket once it arrives in Germany. Makeiev has been calling himself “Ukraine’s designated ambassador to Germany” on Twitter since Sunday. In recent weeks, he has occasionally sent messages in German and addressed the German public with requests for weapons. During the missile attacks in Kiev, Makeiev wrote from a subway station that had been converted into a bomb shelter: “What we cannot do alone, we can do together! But we need weapons for this: the Russians are bombing us without understand”.
Melnyk: “It must be Makeiev”
It looks much more diplomatic than its predecessor. He also doesn’t believe Makeiev will emulate him. “He can’t be another Melnyk. The Germans wouldn’t want it either. He has to invent something else, he just has to be Makeiev, ”he says.
Green politician Anton Hofreiter, who has been campaigning vehemently for arms deliveries to Ukraine in recent months, makes a similar statement: “He will find his own way to fill this office.”
CDU politician Kiesewetter hopes for “overwhelming words”
The opposition expects Makeiev to speak plain language. “I hope the new Ukrainian ambassador will fight as hard for Ukraine as his predecessor did,” CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kesewetter told dpa. “Ukraine needs an ambassador who, with overwhelming words, clearly indicates the pressure to act and the responsibility of Germany”. Makeiev expects “to become the voice of Ukraine in Germany with the heart and soul that will be heard”.
At the very beginning, two high-level visits from Kiev
In any case, Makeiev will not have a closing period in Germany. A few days after his arrival, the first high-level visit to Germany from Ukraine is expected. First Lady Olena Selenska visits the Frankfurt Book Fair. The following week, Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal will come to Germany for an international conference in Ukraine, which will mainly focus on reconstruction.
Perhaps Makeiev will also know Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) as the host of the conference. Despite Melnyk’s express request, he didn’t want to see Melnyk for a conversation until the end.
