New Rotation in Kyiv: Who All Lost Their Diplomatic Posts
A decree on Thursday, August 6, 2026, removed officials from their duties in Zagreb, Tirana, Podgorica, and Islamabad. The envoy also left behind a controversial post about Operation Storm.
A decree on Thursday, August 6, 2026, removed officials from their duties in Zagreb, Tirana, Podgorica, and Islamabad. The envoy also left behind a controversial post about Operation Storm.
On Thursday, August 6, 2026, news of personnel changes in diplomacy arrived from Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decision removing Vasyl Kyrylych from the post of ambassador to Croatia, as Tportal refers to him, or Vasyl Kyrylych according to Dnevno.hr. He had held that position since December 2019. Dnevno.hr reports that his post about Operation Storm drew significant attention among Croats.
By Presidential Decree No. 709/2026, Kyrylych was officially recalled from the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Croatia. At the same time, under Decree No. 710/2026, a similar fate befell the ambassador to Albania. This wave of changes did not stop there-it also encompassed Ukrainian diplomats in Montenegro and Pakistan.
This is not an isolated move in a series. A few days earlier, Zelensky had already dismissed ambassadors to Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Austria, Tunisia, and Libya, and the ambassador to the United States also lost her position. Thus, the total number of dismissed heads of diplomatic missions in a short period reached twelve.
Kyrylych was born on May 28, 1964, in the Lviv region of Ukraine. Before coming to Zagreb, he served as Deputy Director of the Consular Affairs Department at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also publicly known as the author of the first Ukrainian Diplomatic Calendar.
As of the time of publication, it is unknown why Kyrylych was dismissed, nor is his successor for the ambassadorship in Zagreb known. Official statements offer no explanations for the other diplomats caught up in this wave of dismissals either.
In recent days, Zelensky has carried out an extensive restructuring of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps, but official documents do not reveal specific reasons for these personnel cuts.