Zelenskyy fires Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, other envoys
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office on Friday, July 8, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a meeting with military officials during his visit to the war-hit Dnipropetrovsk region. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Kyiv's ambassador to Germany on Saturday as well as several other top foreign envoys, the presidential website said.

In a decree that gave no reason for the move, he announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, India, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.

It was not immediately clear if the envoys would be handed new jobs.

Zelenskyy has urged his diplomats to drum up international support and military aid for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

Kyiv's relations with Germany, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies and also Europe's biggest economy, have been a particularly sensitive matter.

The two capitals are currently at odds over a German-made turbine undergoing maintenance in Canada. Germany wants Ottawa to return the turbine to Russian natural gas giant Gazprom to pump gas to Europe.

Kyiv has urged Canada to keep the turbine, saying that shipping it to Russia would be a violation of sanctions imposed on Moscow.