Andrii Melnyk is undoubtedly one of the most famous Ukrainian diplomats. He was remembered by the general Ukrainian, and not only, the public for his extremely atypical, sharp, and sometimes provocative style of diplomacy.
Germany's delay in the transfer of weapons at the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine is explained by a number of factors at once. One of the main reasons is that the Germans did not want to see Ukraine as a full-fledged entity that could fight.
This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by the ex-Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnik. According to him, it was also a complex of such factors as psychological and historical, economic ties, agents, and close personal ties with the leadership of the Russian Federation.
"But the main criterion, probably, was that the Germans did not want to see our country as a full-fledged subject, and Ukrainians as a cultural nation (Kulturnation), ready to fight for their statehood," Melnyk said.
The diplomat is convinced that the Russian Federation for Germany was, is, and will remain a great power, a key geopolitical player on the continent, "so that they don't talk about Putin in Berlin now."
"The Germans are already slowly preparing for a new post-war world order, and - believe me - Russia will not disappear anywhere in this solitaire game, Moscow will continue to play a decisive role," Melnik emphasized.
He added that the political elites of Germany do not hide this even now.
“Ukraine did not play any special significance for Berlin. To be more precise, we served as a kind of testing ground in terms of the progressive establishment of Germany as a great power, I mean, in particular, its mediating role in the Normandy negotiation process,†the official summed up.
Recently it became known that Germany plans to increase the volume of military assistance to Ukraine five times. Thus, it will exceed 15 billion euros.
