Olexi Makeiev takes up post as Ambassador of Ukraine

Nena, Falco and the Toten Hosen – the playlist of the new Ukrainian ambassador exudes the charm of the 1990s. It urgently needs an update, agrees Olexi Makejev. That’s why the new Ukrainian ambassador in Germany calls on his more than 24,000 followers via Twitter to provide him with music tips for the approximately 15-hour drive from Kyiv to Berlin. The 46-year-old would like “rather something rocky”.

On Monday, the diplomat will succeed Andri Melnik, who was Ukraine’s ambassador for almost eight years and arguably the most-loaded diplomatic guest on talk shows. On October 24, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hands over the credentials to Makejew, who is then officially the ambassador.

In this matter, Makejev will be as tough as Melnik, albeit in a different tone. This includes the demand for heavy weapons and support for the defensive struggle of the Ukrainians. “What we can’t do alone, we can do together! But for that we need weapons – Russians are bombing us without understanding,” he tweeted recently. In the past few weeks, Makeyev has occasionally sent messages in German, and during the rocket attacks on Kyiv he tweeted from a subway station that had been converted into an air raid shelter.

Makeyev taught Melnik to tweet

Melnik’s demeanor was anything but diplomatic. He liked to provoke, but he also tirelessly mobilized support for his country. Makejev will have to put up with comparisons with his predecessor, who called the Chancellor an “insulted liverwurst” and accused the Federal President of “dangerous distortion of history”. “I sincerely wish him the best of luck. His mission is very important for our country, for his homeland,” Melnik said in a video to his successor.

Nevertheless, there are things in common: both diplomats have known each other for a long time, previously held high-ranking positions in the Kiev Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speak excellent German and are of the same age group. Allegedly, Makejev even taught Melnik how to tweet during a business trip, who has now far overtaken him with 165,000 followers.

In 2014 – at the time of the Russian annexation of Crimea – Makejev became political director and thus the most important advisor to the then Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin. In 2020 he was then appointed special envoy for sanctions against Russia. He studied international relations in his native city of Kyiv. At the age of 21, he entered his country’s diplomatic service and worked in Bern and Berlin, among other places.

For Makeyev, who is considered to be level-headed and approachable, his new task in Berlin will be of great importance for his country. In times when the Germans are concerned with energy shortages and high inflation, he has to fight against war fatigue and urge solidarity. He will remind the European allies of their promises and demand further arms deliveries.

Melnik wants to continue to get involved in German politics

“I hope that the new Ukrainian ambassador will fight just as hard for Ukraine as his predecessor did,” said CDU foreign policy officer Roderich Kiesewetter of the DPA. “Ukraine needs an ambassador who, with rousing words, clearly points out the pressure to act and the responsibility of Germany.”

Initial contacts with the traffic light coalition have already been made. When Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met her counterpart Dmitro Kuleba in Kyiv a few weeks ago, Makejev was there. He also accompanied Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexi Reznikov to Odessa to meet German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.

Melnik has already traveled back to Kyiv. There he is under discussion as Deputy Foreign Minister. He also wants to get involved in German politics as an ex-ambassador: “I can’t promise that I’ll keep my mouth shut,” he said before leaving.