Zelenskyy sacks controversial Ambassador to Kazakhstan

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has removed the Ukrainian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Petro Vrublevskiy, from his position after his controversial interview with a local blogger caused a diplomatic scandal.

As the Kazakh branch of the Esquire reports, he gave an interview to Kazakh blogger Dias Kuzairov in August 2022, who himself has previously sparked several controversies for the expression of his anti-Russian sentiment in his video. In the course of the Interview, Vrublevskiy, when asked about the current situation on the battleground in his country, responded that Ukraine “is trying to kill as many Russians as possible. The more we kill now, the less our children will have to kill”.

This statement was not taken well in Astana, with the Kazakh foreign ministry announcing on October 5 that Vrublevskiy’s presence in the country was “unwelcome” and requesting his replacement. Meanwhile, the Kommersant reports that the Russian Investigative Committee launched an examination regarding the statement of the Ambassador, who had been appointed to Kazakhstan in 2020.