# ANALYSIS: Zelensky dismisses four ambassadors — Ukrainian diplomacy reinvents itself under pressure

> On June 26, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed three decrees dismissing Ukrainian ambassadors to Oman (Olha Selykh), to Cyprus (Serhiy Nizhynskyi), and to Vietnam and Cambodia (Oleksandr Haman). The same day, a new decree appointed Ihor Brusylo as ambassador to San Marino and Malta. These decrees carry the numbers 534, 535, 536, and 537/2026 and were confirmed by the Int

- Author: Maxime Marquette
- Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co)
- Section: Analysis
- Published: 2026-06-29
- Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/analyse-zelensky-revoque-quatre-ambassadeurs-la-diplomatie-ukrainienne-se-reinve

## Introduction: A diplomatic rotation that says more than it seems

### Four dismissals, one new appointment — June 26, 2026

On **June 26, 2026**, President **Volodymyr Zelensky** signed three decrees dismissing Ukrainian ambassadors to **Oman** (**Olha Selykh**), to **Cyprus** (**Serhiy Nizhynskyi**), and to **Vietnam** and **Cambodia** (**Oleksandr Haman**). The same day, a new decree appointed **Ihor Brusylo** as ambassador to **San Marino** and **Malta**. These decrees carry the numbers **534, 535, 536, and 537/2026** and were confirmed by the **Interfax Ukraine** agency. On the surface, a routine diplomatic rotation. In depth, the sign of a strategic reorganization of the Ukrainian diplomatic apparatus.

Why these four countries? Why now? The decrees give no official reason — standard practice in the diplomatic world. But the context of war in Ukraine transforms every diplomatic decision into a political signal: Kyiv seeks to maximize its international support network at a moment when peace negotiations are on the horizon and every voice counts in international institutions.

### The geographical significance of the posts concerned

**Oman, Cyprus, Vietnam, Cambodia**: this geographically heterogeneous quartet reveals the complexity of the Ukrainian diplomatic map. **Oman** is a Middle Eastern diplomatic actor known for playing a discreet mediation role in complex conflicts — it has notably hosted discussions on Iran and Yemen. **Cyprus** is a diplomatic and economic entry point to Southern Europe and to the business networks gravitating around **Russia**. **Vietnam** and **Cambodia** represent Southeast Asia, a space where **Russia** seeks to maintain its historical ties and where **Ukraine** is working to counter Russian influence.

These are therefore not just any posts being renewed. These are posts in regions where **Ukraine's** diplomatic positioning can make a real difference on **United Nations** votes, on respect for sanctions against **Russia**, and on eventual political support for a peace resolution favorable to Kyiv.

*I read these four dismissals as a strategic message: Zelensky wants ambassadors who match Ukraine in 2026, not Ukraine in 2019 or 2022. He needs diplomats capable of navigating a world transformed by war. It is a sound decision — even if it remains discreet in public communication.*

## The Ukrainian diplomatic reorganization — a deep-rooted trend

### Successive waves of renewal since 2022

These dismissals of **June 26, 2026** fit into a broader trend. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in **2022**, **Zelensky** has carried out numerous diplomatic personnel rotations. This trend reflects several concurrent realities: the adaptation of the diplomatic apparatus to a context of total war, the rise of a new generation of diplomats trained on the challenges of the current conflict, and sometimes dismissals motivated by insufficient performance or integrity issues.

The war has redefined **Ukraine's** diplomatic priorities. Before **2022**, the main challenge for Ukrainian embassies in countries like **Oman** or **Vietnam** was economic and commercial. Today, the challenge is existential: obtaining favorable votes on **UN** resolutions condemning Russian aggression, securing alternative supply channels, preventing circumvention of sanctions against **Russia**.

### The challenge of non-alignment in the Global South

**Vietnam**, **Cambodia**, and **Oman** belong to a group of countries that international observers often describe as the **Global South** — nations that have refused to follow Western positions on the war in Ukraine, abstaining or voting against resolutions condemning **Russia** at the **UN**. This is not necessarily out of sympathy for **Russia**, but often out of a tradition of non-alignment, complex economic dependencies, or distrust of Western positions.

For **Ukraine**, winning back the confidence of these countries is a major diplomatic priority. This requires competent, active ambassadors capable of building relationships at the local level and explaining Ukrainian reality beyond the **Cold War 2.0** narrative that some of these countries perceive. The renewal of these posts is therefore a strategically sound move.

*The Global South is a diplomatic battlefield that Ukraine cannot afford to leave to Russia. Every ambassador Zelensky appoints in these regions is a soldier in the diplomatic war — a war just as decisive as the fighting at the front, even if the ammunition is different.*

## Oman and Cyprus — two posts of discreet strategic importance

### Oman: the diplomacy of mediation

**Oman** has held a mediator role in **Middle Eastern** conflicts for decades. Its pragmatic, non-aligned foreign policy gives it the ability to maintain open dialogue channels that other countries cannot exercise. In the context of the war in Ukraine, where indirect mediation attempts have involved various Gulf countries, maintaining an effective Ukrainian ambassador in **Muscat** is of significant importance.

The dismissal of **Olha Selykh** and her likely replacement with a new profile suggests Kyiv is looking to strengthen this post. The Oman question is delicate: **Oman** maintains relations with **Russia** and has avoided taking a clear position in the conflict. Convincing Muscat to move closer to the Ukrainian position requires patient and nuanced diplomacy.

### Cyprus: the financial and geopolitical hub

**Cyprus** is a particular case in the Ukrainian diplomatic apparatus. This Mediterranean island has historically been an offshore financial center used by Russian and Ukrainian capital. Since the sanctions of **2022**, it has been under international pressure to strengthen its compliance with sanctions regimes. The dismissal of Ambassador **Serhiy Nizhynskyi** and his replacement come in this sensitive context.

For **Ukraine**, **Cyprus** is also an access point to European southern flank policy — a **EU** country, but with particular geopolitical sensitivity tied to its situation of division between the Greek-Cypriot part and the northern part occupied by **Turkey**. Ukrainian diplomacy in **Nicosia** must navigate complex waters where Russian-Cypriot interests and European commitments collide.

*Cyprus as a Russian-Ukrainian financial hub: that is a reality the war has not entirely abolished. I do not know exactly what motivated the dismissal of the Ukrainian ambassador there. But the timing, in a period of complex negotiations, is probably not coincidental.*

## Vietnam and Cambodia — Southeast Asia as a stake

### The legacy of Soviet relations

**Vietnam** and **Cambodia** maintain historical ties with **Russia** inherited from the Soviet era. **Vietnam** in particular has maintained a strategic relationship with **Moscow** for decades: arms purchases, energy sector cooperation. These ties do not mean Hanoi supports the invasion of Ukraine — but they explain the hesitation to take strong positions against **Russia**.

The presence of an active Ukrainian ambassador in **Hanoi** and **Phnom Penh** is essential for offering an alternative perspective to that proposed by **Russia**. Ukraine can draw on its experience as a non-aligned country seeking to protect its sovereignty — a narrative that can resonate in countries whose history bears the marks of great power interventions.

### The competition for UN votes

At the **United Nations General Assembly**, resolutions condemning Russian aggression have obtained significant majorities. But several **Southeast Asian** countries, including **Vietnam**, have historically abstained or not supported these resolutions. In a conflict where international legitimacy is important political currency, every **UN** vote counts.

The appointment of a new ambassador to **Southeast Asia** — potentially with a more active and regionally connected profile — is a sign that Kyiv is not giving up on consolidating its international support even in regions traditionally closer to **Russia**. This is long-term diplomacy, invisible but necessary.

*Vietnam, Cambodia: two countries the Cold War shaped and that the war in Ukraine is displacing in their certainties. Ukraine can speak to these countries from an experience they understand — the struggle for sovereignty against a great power. That message needs to be carried by the right ambassadors.*

## The regional context — the Gdańsk conference and reconstruction

### The reconstruction conference and its diplomatic stakes

These dismissals come in the same period as the **Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk** on **June 25, 2026**, where Ukraine sought to mobilize financial and industrial commitments from its international partners. Kyiv's diplomacy operates on several simultaneous levels: immediate military support, medium-term financial support, and preparation for long-term reconstruction.

These three dimensions require high-performing diplomatic teams, positioned in the right markets and right zones of influence. **Oman** can play a role in Gulf financing for reconstruction. **Cyprus** can be a vector for European capital or private investors interested in Ukrainian reconstruction. These financial connections are today just as important as military connections.

### The expansion to San Marino and Malta — small states, real votes

The appointment of **Ihor Brusylo** as ambassador to **San Marino** and **Malta** completes the picture of these June 26 decrees. Two small European states — but two states that are EU members (for **Malta**) or close partners of the Council of Europe (for **San Marino**). In European institutions, every voice counts. And in the preparation of Ukraine's EU membership — a long and complex process — the support of small member states can prove valuable.

**Malta** is also a Mediterranean transit point and financial hub. Its historic neutrality and ties to both shores of the Mediterranean make it an interesting diplomatic post for a Ukraine seeking to diversify its regional support.

*San Marino and Malta — micro-states that might seem trivial in the big geopolitical game. But Ukrainian diplomacy has understood that in institutional votes, every voice counts. Zelensky is patiently building a universal coalition. I admire this long-distance vision, even in the midst of the daily urgencies of the front.*

## The new Ukrainian diplomacy: competence before seniority

### A cultural revolution in the diplomatic corps

The dismissal of **four Ukrainian ambassadors** by President **Zelensky** fits into a **broader cultural revolution** within Ukrainian diplomacy. Since **2022**, the **Ministry of Foreign Affairs** has undergone accelerated transformation: diplomats trained in the old Soviet school have progressively been replaced by younger professionals, often trained in the **West**, mastering the languages and cultural codes of target partners. This generational renewal is also a doctrinal renewal.

**Pre-2022 Ukrainian diplomacy** was often perceived as cautious, formal, sometimes indecisive — the reflection of an institutional culture still hesitating between Soviet heritages and pro-European aspirations. **2026 Ukrainian diplomacy** is radically different: direct, confident, creative in its approaches, capable of mobilizing international public opinion with an effectiveness that traditional diplomats did not master. Ambassador replacements are part of this transformation.

### The new geographic priorities

The **destinations of new ambassadors** reveal the geographic priorities of the renovated Ukrainian diplomacy. A strengthened presence in the capitals of **non-aligned countries** — in **Africa**, **Southeast Asia**, **Latin America** — reflects the realization that Western support, however crucial, is not enough to build an international majority definitively isolating **Russia**. Countries like **India**, **South Africa**, **Brazil**, and **Indonesia** maintain ambiguous positions — and **Ukraine** is now investing in the diplomatic relationships necessary to shift them.

This strategy of **diplomatic diversification** is both necessary and difficult. Non-aligned countries have their own economic and political interests with **Russia** — trade relations, armament dependencies, historical non-alignment postures — that will not disappear with the arrival of a new ambassador. But building relationships, explaining the Ukrainian position, demonstrating shared values: all of this takes time, and it is the time that new Ukrainian ambassadors will invest in their respective posts.

*Ukraine sending diplomats to African and Asian capitals to explain its war. That is long-term vision. The UN General Assembly battle is not won only in the West — it is won in Abuja, Jakarta, and Brasilia. Zelensky has understood this.*

## What the dismissals say about Zelensky as a war leader

### Personnel management as a strategic signal

**Zelensky's** decisions on his diplomatic personnel reveal a leadership style that deserves analysis for its consistency. Since **2022**, he has carried out numerous rotations in military, government, and diplomatic positions — sometimes in controversial circumstances. These rotations are not signs of instability — they reflect a **performance demand** that few peacetime leaders would dare to apply with such consistency.

This demand has costs: the loss of institutional experience, the risks associated with the learning curve of new incumbents, temporary diplomatic friction with host countries. But it also has benefits: the maintenance of an organizational culture that values **performance over seniority**, the regular injection of new energies and perspectives, and the clear signal that **Zelensky** himself protects no one through personal loyalty if results are not delivered.

### The democratic legitimacy of Zelensky's personal choices

The dismissal of ambassadors has sparked some criticism — notably from certain diplomatic circles pointing to the lack of consultation with the countries concerned. These criticisms are legitimate in their form — diplomatic courtesy generally requires prior communication with host countries. But they must not obscure the essential: **Zelensky has the absolute democratic right** to choose his diplomatic representatives, and partners who feel slighted at not having been consulted should keep these grievances in perspective.

We are in **2026**. **Ukraine** is fighting for its survival with limited human resources in the context of total war. **Zelensky's** priority is not to manage diplomatic sensitivities — it is to position the right people in the right places to maximize the chances of victory and international support. Partners who understand this will adjust their expectations accordingly.

*A few capitals annoyed by Zelensky's dismissals. I understand. But I put this in perspective: a country at war reorganizing its diplomacy to be more effective — that is not impoliteness, that is survival. Partners who matter know it.*

## Ukrainian diplomacy in a restructuring world

### Navigating between Washington, Brussels, and the Global South

**Zelensky's ambassador dismissals** come in a context of **global geopolitical restructuring** that Ukrainian diplomacy must navigate with growing finesse. The world of **2026** is no longer bipolar — nor even unipolar under American dominance. It is de facto multipolar, with the **United States** under the **Trump** administration sending ambiguous signals about its commitments, a **Europe** seeking to build its strategic autonomy, and a **Global South** refusing to clearly choose between **Moscow** and **Washington**.

In this context, **Ukrainian diplomacy** must simultaneously maintain Western solidarity, deepen relations with countries that voted against **UN** resolutions condemning **Russia**, and build partnerships with emerging powers that could play a role in future peace arrangements. This is a diplomatically complex exercise of exceptional difficulty — and the ambassador dismissals are a sign that **Zelensky** wants diplomats equal to this complexity.

### Credibility as a diplomatic asset

One of the most remarkable transformations of **Ukrainian diplomacy** since **2022** is the construction of unprecedented **international credibility**. **Ukraine** in **2026** is no longer perceived as a small post-Soviet country under Russian influence — it is seen as a state that resisted with courage, that maintains its democratic institutions despite the war, and that defends universal values at the price of considerable sacrifices. This credibility is a **diplomatic asset** that **Zelensky** manages with care.

The ambassadors who represent **Ukraine** in world capitals are the bearers of this credibility. A high-performing ambassador amplifies this asset — translating it into favorable **UN** votes, reconstruction contracts, political support. An ambassador below the required level squanders it. That is why the dismissals, despite their short-term cost, serve Ukrainian strategic interest in the long run.

*Four ambassadors dismissed, four new profiles sent out. A Ukrainian diplomacy reinventing itself in real time, under pressure, with a clear vision of what it must accomplish. This is Ukraine in 2026: not perfect, but determined, adaptive, and far more sophisticated than the adversary expected.*

## Conclusion: Diplomacy as a second front of the war

### Four dismissals, one strategic vision

The dismissal of four ambassadors on the same day, in countries as different as **Oman, Cyprus, Vietnam, and Cambodia**, is not a routine decision. It is the visible sign of a reorganization of the Ukrainian diplomatic apparatus to meet the challenges of the period: the approaching peace negotiations, the mobilization of international support, the preparation of reconstruction, and the diplomatic war against Russian influence in the **Global South** and **Asia**.

**Zelensky** is simultaneously waging a military war, an economic war, a communications war, and a diplomatic war. These ambassador dismissals are a piece on the diplomatic chessboard — less visible than nighttime strikes or weapons deliveries, but no less important for Ukraine's position in the world.

### Ukraine as a mature diplomatic actor

What strikes in Ukrainian diplomatic management since **2022** is its growing maturity. **Ukraine** is no longer only a country in crisis asking for help — it is an active diplomatic actor building alliances, diversifying its partnerships, and positioning its pieces on the world chessboard with clear vision. These four dismissals are further proof of that. Ukrainian diplomacy is reinventing itself — and this reinvention is also a form of victory.

In the months ahead, the new ambassadors who will be appointed to these four countries will have important missions to accomplish. Their success or failure will contribute to determining Ukraine's international position in a pivotal period of its history.

*Ukraine's international credibility is one of its most precious strategic assets. It is earned, it can be lost, it must be cultivated. Ambassadors are its guardians. Zelensky replaces those who are not equal to this challenge. That is strategic management, not impulsiveness.*

**By Maxime Marquette, columnist**

## Columnist's transparency note

### Editorial stance

I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies.

I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events.

### Method and sources

This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here.

**Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies.

**Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations.

When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**.

### Nature of the analysis

The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted.

My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors.

This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text.

## Sources

### Primary sources

- [Interfax Ukraine — Zelenskyy dismisses ambassadors to Oman, Cyprus, Vietnam, Cambodia — June 26, 2026](https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1180127.html)

- [Interfax Ukraine — European Commission proposes extending refugee protection for Ukrainians — June 26, 2026](https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1179870.html)

### Secondary sources

- [Ukrainian Presidency — The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Slovakia held a meeting — June 24, 2026](https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/prezident-ukrayini-j-premyer-ministr-slovachchini-obgovorili-105021)

- [United24 Media — Ukraine's TAF Industries and Poland's PGZ Sign Deal to Scale Joint Drone Manufacturing — June 25, 2026](https://united24media.com/world/ukraines-taf-industries-and-polands-pgz-sign-deal-to-scale-joint-drone-manufacturing-20176)

- [Kyiv Independent — Amid UK political turmoil, Andy Burnham's rise offers reassurance to Ukraine — June 24, 2026](https://kyivindependent.com/will-britains-likely-next-prime-minister-change-course-on-ukraine/)

- [Euromaidan Press — Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1581 — June 24, 2026](https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/06/24/russo-ukrainian-war-day-1581/)

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Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/analyse-zelensky-revoque-quatre-ambassadeurs-la-diplomatie-ukrainienne-se-reinve