The photo, published on Facebook by a Turkish journalist, hit the Internet like a ton of bricks, enraging many Ukrainians who considered the t-shirt a betrayal and called for the consul to be penalized.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin announced the decision to remove Aydin from office.
"This is a matter of principle," Klimkin wrote on his Twitter account. "I have decided to dismiss him [Levent Aydın] from the position of honorary consul of Ukraine."
He also noted, however, that Aydın had helped many Ukrainian citizens.
This is not the first time notable Ukrainians have appeared in public wearing Putin t-shirts. Previously, mixed martial artist Aleksey Oleinik made waves when he showed up to a pre-fight weigh-in event in a similar shirt.
