Ukraine has named Valerii Zaluzhnyi its new envoy to the United Kingdom.
Gatekeepers News reports that the development comes a month after he was removed from his position as the country’s military commander-in-chief.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a request to the British side for an agreement,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Ukraine has not had an ambassador in the UK since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed former envoy Vadym Prystaiko in July 2023 after he publicly criticised the leader.
Zaluzhnyi had led the Ukrainian army since the start of the war against Russia, pushing back a vastly more powerful invading force in the first months of the conflict.
Dubbed the “Iron General” by Ukrainian media, Zaluzhnyi came to symbolise the country’s resistance and enjoyed sky-high approval ratings among the public.
But the failure of a much-vaunted counteroffensive last summer and public disagreement with Zelenskyy tarnished his reputation in the president’s office.
He was replaced in February by Oleksandr Syrskii, who commanded Ukraine’s lightning autumn 2022 counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
