The new head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sibiha, blocked consular services for Ukrainians and accused Poland of euthanasia

Dmytro Kuleba’s replacement, Andriy Sybiha, received approval from the parliament today and became Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sybiha is a native of the Ternopil region. He has been in diplomatic service since 1997. He worked at the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland and, for five years—from 2016 to 2021—served as the ambassador to Turkey. He then transitioned to the Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he handled foreign policy as the deputy head of the President’s Office under Andriy Yermak.

In April of this year, Sybiha moved from the President’s Office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, becoming Kuleba’s deputy. At that time, the media reported that this was preparation for his appointment as minister.

Shortly after his appointment as Kuleba’s deputy, he signed a controversial letter to Ukrainian foreign consulates, instructing them not to issue documents to men of conscription age abroad. Many criticized this directive as exceeding legal boundaries.

In June, Sybiha visited China, where he met with senior officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was seen as an attempt by the President’s Office to strengthen its position ahead of negotiations.

The new minister has made undiplomatic statements regarding Hungary and Poland. For instance, he referred to the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, László Kövér, as a “pseudo-politician” in response to Kövér’s claim that President Zelensky had “personal mental issues.”

Sybiha also compared Poland’s closure of its borders to Ukrainian goods to “euthanasia.”

“To insist that Ukraine, in the context of its gratitude to Poland, accept the closure of borders for Ukrainian agricultural products is equivalent to forcing us to agree to euthanasia,” he said.

It is worth noting that one of the reasons cited by Western media for Kuleba’s dismissal was his reluctance to “be harsh” with international partners.

Sybiha is also considered closer to Yermak than Kuleba. Yermak currently oversees Ukraine’s foreign policy, and reports suggest that his relationship with the former Foreign Minister had become strained in recent times.