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Ukraine’s former highest-ranking general took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to the United Kingdom on Thursday.
General Valeriy Zaluzhny, who is widely popular in Ukraine for his critical role in repelling Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, presented his diplomatic credentials in London on Thursday, formally assuming his post.
The ambassadorship has been vacant since July 2023, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the former envoy, Vadym Prystaiko, after he publicly criticized him.
“The victory of Ukraine in the war with the Russian aggressor remains the main priority of my activity and the activity of the Embassy,” Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram.
Zaluzhny himself was dismissed from his role as the military’s commander-in-chief by Zelenskyy in February in a major shake-up of military leadership after Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive and amid rising tensions between the two men.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised that his newly elected Labour government will continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort “for as long as it takes.”
