Speaking of “Western Values”, What About the Ukrainian Ambassador to Berlin?

In an explosive interview on June 30, which received surprisingly little coverage in the mainstream media, Ukraine’s provocative ambassador to Germany, Andrej Melnyk, was asked by journalist Tilo Jung to clarify his position on Ukrainian ultra-nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. It is widely acknowledged internationally that Bandera was a fascist who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II and participated in massacres of tens of thousands of Jews and Poles. In Ukraine today, however, he is considered by many as a hero, because he was also anti-Soviet.

The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, for one, defended him unabashedly, claiming that “Bandera was not a mass murderer of Jews and Poles”. Jung then read a quote from a leaflet by Bandera’s organization in 1941: “People, this you must know: Muscovites, Poles, Hungarians, Jews – they are your enemies. Destroy them! You must know this. Your leadership. Your leader, Stepan Bandera.” Nonetheless, Melnyk insisted there was no evidence that “freedom fighter” Bandera, leader of the radical wing of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, was anti-Semitic.

So much for those who claim that the warnings about extremists in Ukraine today are merely “pro-Russian propaganda”.

His statements provoked official protests from both Poland and Israel, and the pressure on Kiev was such that the Foreign Ministry finally issued a statement, saying that that Melnyk only expressed his personal opinion, not that of the government. One can only wonder why the German government has kept silent on the issue. Especially, since Melnyk has repeatedly and highly undiplomatically insulted and berated German officials for not delivering enough weapons and money to Kiev, even calling Chancellor Scholz “an offended liverwurst” in May.

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