The 4 August article on the news website Dzerkalo Tyzhnya, saying 40% to 60% of diplomats do not return to Ukraine from its embassies abroad due to financial and employment issues, is completely untrue, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said in reply to LB.ua's inquiry.
"The actual situation is as follows: since 24 February 2022, 18 career diplomats and 15 contract employees have resigned from the Foreign Ministry and have not returned to Ukraine. The latter category was employed abroad for a fixed period of time without an obligation to continue working for the Foreign Ministry. In other words, if we talk about the diplomatic service system, these are 18 people. In total, the maximum number of employees of Ukraine's diplomatic missions abroad is 1,485. The number of those who have not returned is actually 1%," the Foreign Ministry said.
At the same time, it pointed out that "the position of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is clear: all diplomats, without exception, must strictly follow the orders of the Foreign Ministry to return upon the completion of their missions".
"It is noteworthy that the publication in Dzerkalo Tyzhnya with false information coincided with the discrediting campaign against Ukrainian diplomats launched by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service," the Foreign Ministry said.