A university professor who has been fighting on the frontline is set to become Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary, amid a major reshuffle of Kyiv’s foreign representatives.
Fedir Shandor, known as the ‘professor from the trenches,’ became a social media phenomenon when a picture of him giving a lecture in a trench while carrying a gun went viral.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also appointed new diplomats for Ukraine’s embassies in Slovenia, Lithuania, Japan, China and among others.
Shandor originally comes from the western Zakarpattia region, which borders with Hungary and is home to the bulk of Ukraine’s 150,000-strong ethnic Hungarian population.
He joined the Ukrainian army in February 2023 as a volunteer and now fights for the 101st Zakarpattia Territorial Defense Brigade.
In his new post, the 49-year-old academic will be taking over from acting chargé d’affairs Ishtvan Balog, who had been representing Kyiv in Budapest for the past two years after the previous ambassador was dismissed by Zelenskyy.
On Friday, Zelenskyy approved over 30 changes in Ukraine’s diplomatic teams abroad, resulting in an overhaul of its embassies at a moment that could prove to be a pivotal in its war against Russia.
Notably, Zelenskyy appointed Andriy Melnyk, former ambassador to Brazil and Germany, as the new representative to the United Nations and Aliona Hetmanchuk as the new diplomatic envoy to NATO.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also appointed new diplomats for Ukraine’s embassies in Slovenia, Lithuania, Japan, China and among others.
Shandor originally comes from the western Zakarpattia region, which borders with Hungary and is home to the bulk of Ukraine’s 150,000-strong ethnic Hungarian population.
He joined the Ukrainian army in February 2023 as a volunteer and now fights for the 101st Zakarpattia Territorial Defense Brigade.
In his new post, the 49-year-old academic will be taking over from acting chargé d’affairs Ishtvan Balog, who had been representing Kyiv in Budapest for the past two years after the previous ambassador was dismissed by Zelenskyy.
On Friday, Zelenskyy approved over 30 changes in Ukraine’s diplomatic teams abroad, resulting in an overhaul of its embassies at a moment that could prove to be a pivotal in its war against Russia.
Notably, Zelenskyy appointed Andriy Melnyk, former ambassador to Brazil and Germany, as the new representative to the United Nations and Aliona Hetmanchuk as the new diplomatic envoy to NATO.
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