Zelensky approves appointments of new ambassadors, ex-Prosecutor General among them

President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed new Ukrainian ambassadors to seven countries on April 7, according to decrees published on the president's website.

The appointments include Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's former Prosecutor General, who resigned in October 2024 amid a major corruption scandal involving hundreds of prosecutors who obtained disability benefits.

Despite promises to bring Kostin to "political responsibility," Zelensky appointed him ambassador to the Netherlands.

Previously, a source familiar with decision-making in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Kostin wanted an ambassadorial post in the Netherlands.

Kostin has also been appointed Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The various ambassadors have been appointed to represent Ukraine in Argentina, China, Finland, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and Norway.

Andriy Melnyk was formally appointed as the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (UN). He was dismissed from his role as ambassador to Brazil.

Kostin has been criticized for failing to reform the prosecutor's office and not obtaining any notable achievements as Prosecutor General. He has been praised for not blocking or sabotaging any high-profile cases.