Ukraine’s Andrey Melnik, known for profane tweets, lashed out at a legislator who questioned why his son isn’t on the frontline
Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrey Melnik speaks at an event in Potsdam, Germany, May 2022. © Soeren Stache / AFP
Ukraine’s notorious outgoing ambassador to Berlin, Andrey Melnik, has attacked yet another German politician on social media, this time for questioning why his son is staying in Germany instead of fighting on the frontline. The diplomat is known for obscenity-laden tweets directed at public figures in Germany and abroad.
The exchange happened on Twitter when Sven Tritschler, a regional legislator from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, poked fun at Melnik, who, together with his wife Svetlana, told the German media that they are considering having their children stay in Germany for safety reasons. The Melniks said their 20-year-old son is a student in the country.
“I wonder a bit how Mr. Melnik wants to drag half of the world into this war, while his 20-year-old son is comfortably studying in Germany instead of fighting. The Americans call such a thing ‘chickenhawk,’” Tritschler, a lawmaker from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, wrote on Sunday.
Most military-age men are banned from leaving Ukraine due to the mobilization that was declared after Russia launched its military operation in the neighboring country in February.
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Melnik quickly responded to Tritschler with profanities, tweeting: “That is none of your f***ing business, you s**t stain.”
Tritschler replied: “Oh, but it is exactly my business, if German citizens should pay not only for your tanks, but also for the studies of your draft-dodger son, you Bandera fanboy.”
The lawmaker was referring to Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist leader who collaborated with Adolf Hitler’s forces during World War II. Melnik has in the past described Bandera as a freedom fighter, comparing him to Robin Hood.
The diplomat, who will step down from his post in Berlin this week and move back to work in his home country, passionately urged Germany to send more heavy weapons to Kiev. He also became infamous for insulting public figures who disagreed with him.
On Sunday, Melnik called the country’s Die Linke (The Left) party “leftist dirt” during a Twitter tirade against left-wing politician Ezgi Guyildar, who, like Tritschler, questioned why his son was not fighting for Ukraine at home.
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In May, Melnik said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz was behaving like “an offended liver sausage,” a German phrase used to describe a thin-skinned person. The criticism came after Scholz said he would not travel to Kiev at the time because German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s invitation to make such a trip had been rescinded.
The envoy also told Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to “f**k off” after the billionaire weighed in on the prospects of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
