Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, was summoned on Sunday, August 21, to the Austrian Foreign Ministry in connection with a scandalous statement he made on Twitter. “We stand for freedom of expression. But we also have the right to take a firm stand against this kind of inflammatory statement,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry tweeted on Saturday, August 20. “We are outraged by the inhumane statements of Russia’s permanent representative,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry added.

The reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to the scandalous tweet

A few hours earlier, a Russian diplomat posted a short tweet in English on the microblogging network: “No mercy for Ukrainians.” After some time, the message was deleted.

In turn, the press secretary of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleg Nikolenko, urged diplomats in Vienna to boycott Ulyanov, and the Austrian authorities to expel him from the country. “Russian Representative Mikhail Ulyanov calls for the liquidation of the Ukrainian nation. This language of genocide must not be tolerated. We call on the entire diplomatic community in Vienna to boycott Ulyanov and declare his host country, Austria, persona non grata,” the statement said. . spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine wrote on Twitter.

Ulyanov’s explanations

In response to criticism and accusations of genocide calls, Ulyanov was outraged and explained his attitude as a reaction to Ukraine’s presidency, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the Ukrainian head of state thanked the United States for the military support provided to his country.

According to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, “rejecting diplomatic efforts” (Resolution of the conflict with Russia. – Ed.) and “focusing solely on the accumulation of Western weapons”, the Ukrainian authorities allegedly “don’t care about their own population” – which is why Ulyanov allegedly published his tweet.