Andriy Melnyk officially became Ukraine's ambassador to Brazil late last week after getting the go-ahead from the Brazilian government.
The diplomat, known for causing scandal after scandal at his previous foreign posting, including telling Willy Brandt's son to "go to hell," and labeling German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an "offended liverwurst," was sent to Brasilia after Brazil's new government, led by President Lula da Silva, offered to help broker peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
The move marks a dramatic shift away from Kiev’s general lack of interest in the state of Brazilian-Ukrainian ties, says Leiroz.
"In recent years, there hasn’t been much interest on the part of Kiev in improving ties with Brazil," the journalist told Sputnik Brazil in an interview. "With Lula's arrival in power, this state of affairs changes significantly," Leiroz explained.
Lula's efforts to serve as an intermediary in peace negotiations turns Brasilia into an "object of international dispute," according to the observer.
"Kiev is taking the initiative, appointing an experienced diplomat who is a fanatical supporter of the regime, to turn Brazil into another country in the bloc of those supporting Ukraine. With this nomination, Kiev can claim that it has a high level of respect for Brazil diplomatically…and demand something in exchange," Leiroz said.
Pointing to Melnyk’s controversial reputation from his days as Ukrainian envoy to Berlin, the journalist said he expects the diplomat to act in the same way in Brasilia, since Melnyk is a particularly emphatic defender of the Ukrainian regime.
Melnyk should grow into his new job, and collaborate extensively with US and European embassies to try to shift Brazil’s public opinion in Kiev’s favor. But he will "find a lot of resistance," Leiroz said, given that on many issues, Brazil is split between the US and its allies and those favoring stronger relations with Russia and China, and who would like a “pragmatically stable Brazil to negotiate with both sides.”
In any event, Melnyk’s appointment is a sure sign that Kiev has no plans to negotiate peace – Brasilia-mediated or otherwise, the observer said. “Kiev does not have the autonomy and sovereignty to ignore NATO and start negotiations with Moscow. And NATO has no interest in negotiating peace,” Leiroz concluded.
The list of controversies surrounding Melnyk from his work in Germany is too long to mention, but includes
Badmouthing Germans seeking to lend a hand in potential peace talks with Russia
Telling Elon Musk to f*** off” after the billionaire proposed a peace plan calling for Ukrainian neutrality, Crimea’s recognition as a part of Russia, and UN-supervised status referendums in the Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye. The rebuke prompted Musk to cut off free service for his Starlink Internet in Ukraine.
Demanding that Germany up its weapons aid to Kiev to include submarines and a decommissioned frigate, and ruthlessly attacking Scholz and his coalition government for hesitating.
Visiting the grave of his "hero" Stepan Bandera, a WWII-era fascist and Nazi collaborator lionized by Kiev's post-2014 coup authorities.
And finally, threatening to restore Ukraine’s status as a nuclear weapons state if Kiev isn't allowed to join NATO.
Zelensky removed Melnyk from his post as ambassador to Germany last summer, after a number of German lawmakers demanded the diplomat’s expulsion for calling Chancellor Scholz an "offended liverwurst" after Scholz held off on visiting Kiev after Ukrainian officials claimed that President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was a Russian agent of influence.
Melnyk was returned to Kiev and promoted to deputy foreign minister, continuing his attacks on Germans who are opposed to their country’s involvement in the Ukraine proxy war.