Zelensky replaces a number of ambassadors, including in Slovenia
Kyiv/Ljubljana, 22 December - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a number of ambassadors and appointed new ones, including in Slovenia, where Ambassador Andry Taran was replaced by Petr Beshta, who has so far served as ambassador to Lithuania, several Ukrainian media have reported.
Brussels, Belgium
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Photo: Thierry Monasse/STA
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Beshta has served as ambassador to Lithuania since January 2022, and had previously been director-general of the Political Directorate and of the Strategic Planning Directorate at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, says on the website of the Ukrainian Embassy in Lithuania.
Between November 2013 and December 2014 he served as chargé d'affaires at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
Between December 2006 and November 2007 he was assistant to the president of Ukraine.
Taran was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Slovenia on 4 May 2022, having previously served as Ukraine's minister of defence from March 2020 until November 2021, when he offered to resign. The retired lieutenant general of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has in the past served as military attaché to the US and deputy head of the Defence Intelligence Service.
Zelensky announced the approval of over 30 Ukrainian ambassadorial appointments abroad during his evening address on Friday.
The appointments come after a significant reshuffle within Ukraine's diplomatic and governmental framework earlier this year.