Dmytro Kuleba
Дмитро Кулеба
Kuleba in 2023
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assumed office
4 March 2020
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterDenys Shmyhal
Preceded byVadym Prystaiko
Deputy Prime Minister
on matters of European relations
In office
29 August 2019 – 4 March 2020
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterOleksiy Honcharuk
Preceded byIvanna Klympush-Tsintsadze
Succeeded byVadym Prystaiko
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe
In office
2016–2019
Preceded byMykola Tochytsky
Succeeded byBorys Tarasyuk[1]
Personal details
Born (1981-04-19) 19 April 1981
Sumy, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Sumy, Ukraine)
Political partyServant of the People
SpouseYevhenia Kuleba
ChildrenTwo
EducationTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (PhD, international law)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • diplomat

Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba (Ukrainian: Дмитро Іванович Кулеба, IPA: [dmeˈtrɔ iˈʋanɔʋet͡ʃ kuˈlɛbɐ]; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician and diplomat currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2] He is concurrently a member of the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine.[3]

The youngest foreign affairs minister in Ukraine's history,[4] he previously worked as Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration[5] and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe between 2016 and 2019.

Early life

Kuleba was born on 19 April 1981 in Sumy, in the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. In 2003, he graduated with honors with a degree in International Law from the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Kuleba subsequently obtained a Candidate of Sciences degree (equivalent to PhD) in Law in 2006.[6][7]

Foreign officer (2003–2019)

Kuleba has served in Ukraine's diplomatic service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2003. He abandoned public service in 2013, citing his disagreement with Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych's course, and chaired the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy. He took an active part in the Euromaidan protests in 2013–2014.

At the height of the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Kuleba decided to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry's work.

In 2016, Kuleba was appointed Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.

Political office (2019–present)

From August 2019 to March 2020, he was Deputy Prime Minister on matters of European relations. He has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 4 March 2020.[8] In an interview on 27 April 2020 he outlined what he saw as the challenges of his new position.[9]

Kuleba greeting U.S. President Joe Biden, 22 February 2022

In a lengthy interview on 24 March 2022 Kuleba called Russian president Vladimir Putin a "war criminal". According to him, the Russians had already used white phosphorus munitions and cluster bombs.[10] On 10 May 2022, Kuleba said that "In the first months" of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine "the victory for us looked like withdrawal of Russian forces to the positions they occupied before February 24 and payment for inflicted damage. Now if we are strong enough on the military front and we win the battle for Donbas, which will be crucial for the following dynamics of the war, of course the victory for us in this war will be the liberation of the rest of our territories", including Donbas and Crimea.[11]

Kuleba, Metropolitan Epiphanius and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine near Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv on 6 May 2021

After Putin announced a partial mobilization of Russia's armed forces and referenced a potential use of nuclear weapons, Kuleba said that "Putin has shown utter disrespect to China, India, Mexico, Turkey, other Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Latin American nations which have called for diplomacy and an end to Russia's war on Ukraine."[12] On 10 October 2022, he urged African states to abandon their neutrality and condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[13] He called Putin a "terrorist" whose "only tactic is terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities."[14] On 28 October 2022, he demanded the immediate cessation of the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia, including Iranian kamikaze drones.[15] On 12 November 2022, he urged ASEAN countries to abandon their neutrality and support Ukraine.[16]

In a December 2022 interview with the Associated Press, Kuleba called for a February 2023 peace summit at the United Nations mediated by secretary-general António Guterres, only inviting Russia if it faces an international court for war crimes.[17] In another December interview, he predicted that:[18]

After this war we will be full members of both the EU and NATO, and guarantors of global food security. We will be an integral and indispensable part of the West. The West is not a geographical notion; it's a political one. And if you share the same principles and values, irrespective of your geography, you belong to the West.

In December 2022 Kuleba criticized India for buying cheap Russian oil.[19] On 29 December 2022, following the strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, Kuleba tweeted, "There can be no 'neutrality' in the face of such mass war crimes. Pretending to be 'neutral' equals taking Russia's side."[20]

As the one-year anniversary of the invasion drew near, Kuleba went to the US and spoke to Harvard University students,[21][22] while he quarterbacked a number of diplomatic initiatives at the United Nations in New York, for example passing Resolution ES-11/7 of the Eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly on 23 February and one day later the 9269th meeting of the United Nations Security Council addressed the "Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine", during which a roll call of friends and allies spoke in favour of Ukraine for over three hours.[23][24]

Chinese peace envoy Li Hui meets with Kuleba in Kyiv on 17 May 2023

In March 2023, Kuleba said that China "will not allow Russia to collapse" but "they need a weak Russia to make concessions to China, to provide their resources."[25]

On 16 May 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the leaders of African countries came up with a new initiative for peace in Ukraine.[26] Both Russia and Ukraine welcomed the African leaders' mission, but Kuleba warned that "Any peace initiative should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, it should not imply, even in-between the lines, any cessation of Ukrainian territory to Russia. Second, any peace plan should not lead to the freezing of the conflict."[27]

Kuleba meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London, on 20 June 2023

In July 2023 when Ukrainian four-time individual world sabre champion Olga Kharlan was disqualified at the World Fencing Championships for not shaking the hand of her defeated Russian opponent, though she instead offered a tapping of blades in acknowledgement, Kuleba voiced support for Kharlan.[28][29] He wrote on social media: "I urge [Fédération Internationale d'Escrime] to restore Kharlan's rights and allow her to compete."[30]

Kuleba told an audience at the World Economic Forum in January 2024:[31]

We see that the actual Dynamics in engaging countries from all over the world into the Ukrainian plan is very positive and I think we are setting a precedent here where the terms of peace are being defined by a country whose peace was broken by by an Invader it's not the Invader who imposes his peace terms on the victim it's not the third party that is proposing a compromise solution in a form of Peace terms it's us the country that is fighting back that defines the rules of peace and I think it's quite a remarkable moment in human history and in the history of wars and diplomacy.

One of the 10 points in this plan is accountability and accountability implies the tribunal and paying for the damage inflicted and the most important part of this peace plan is of course restoring territorial Integrity of Ukraine so when we hear arguments coming from some experts or thinkers that maybe it's worth freezing the conflict our response is you know we need frozen assets not frozen conflict.

This is the way forward: to send a clear message to everyone in the world that if you dare to break rules you're going to pay. If we don't send that message if we don't make it very clear the number of conflicts--Interstate conflicts--and tensions across the globe will grow and I think this is and the price of fixing them will be much higher than the price of helping Ukraine. I think this is one of the motivations that brings all these countries at the table because they realize the consequences of not participating in an effort to restore peace on just terms.

Political views

Kuleba with Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Denys Shmyhal during the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on 2 February 2023

Dmytro Kuleba is a consistent supporter of Ukraine joining the European Union and NATO.[32][33] He is in favor of providing Ukraine with an Action Program on NATO membership.[34] In his opinion, Ukraine will join NATO before the EU.[35]

Kuleba has repeatedly noted that Ukrainian identity is Central European, and he considers the deepening of relations and integration with neighboring countries in Central Europe to be one of the priorities of foreign policy.[36]

Kuleba was a guest on the American talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on 22 September 2022. He explained the position of the Ukrainian people: "We know how to win. And we will."[37]

Personal life

In 2019, Kuleba wrote The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities a book on modern communications, media literacy, and countering disinformation.[38] In December 2017, Kuleba was named the best Ukrainian ambassador of the Year 2017 by the Institute of World Policy.[39][40]

Kuleba's mother is Yevhenia Kuleba. His father Ivan Kuleba is a career diplomat, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2003–2004), as well as Ukraine's ambassador to Egypt (1997–2000), Czech Republic (2004–2009), Kazakhstan (2008–2019), and Armenia (2019–2021).

Kuleba has two children. His former[41] wife Yevhenia was number 1 on the party list for the Kyiv City Council of the party Servant of the People in the 2020 Kyiv local election.[42][43] She is a Kyiv City Council Deputy, Secretary of the Kyiv City Council Standing Committee on Environmental Policy.

Awards and honors

 Ukraine:

 Lithuania:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zelensky appoints Tarasyuk Ukraine's envoy to Council of Europe, Ukrinform (24 December 2019)
  2. ↑ "Dmytro Kuleba". Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. 11 February 2023. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine". National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Dmytro Kuleba". Bookforum. 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine - Parliament approves new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine". www.kmu.gov.ua.
  6. ↑ Kuleba Dmytro Ivanovych – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine - website DIP - Diplomacy and tourism
  7. ↑ Dmytro Kuleba - website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
  8. ↑ "Dmytro Kuleba Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine". Casimir Pulaski Foundation. Warsaw Security Forum. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Allard, Ophelie (27 April 2020). "Monday Talk With H.E Dmytro Kuleba, Minister Of Foreign Affairs Of Ukraine". Vocal Europe.
  10. ↑ "Ukraine's foreign minister: 'Putin is a war criminal. Russia will feel the consequences for decades'". El País. 24 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Ukraine has upgraded its war aims as confidence grows, says foreign minister". Financial Times. 10 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Foreign minister says Putin throwing more men into "flames of war"". Egypt Independent. 21 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "Ukraine pleads with Africa to quit neutrality". The Citizen. 10 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Ex-Russian foreign minister says 'terror' is a 'desperate' Putin's only option after his battered army rained missiles down on Ukraine's civilians". Business Insider. 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Ukraine foreign minister tells Iran counterpart: Stop sending arms to Russia". Reuters. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ukraine minister urges ASEAN bloc to stop Russia's 'hunger games'". Al Jazeera. 12 November 2022. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023.
  17. ↑ Castillo, E. Eduardo; Hanna Arhirova (26 December 2022). "The AP Interview: Ukraine FM aims for February peace summit". AP News. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  18. ↑ Rebelo, Carlota (December 2022). "The peacemaker". Monocle.
  19. ↑ "Ukraine hits out at India for buying cheap Russian oil 'while we are suffering and dying'". The Independent. 6 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "British Defense Ministry Notes 'Continued Churn of Senior Russian Officials'". VOA News. 30 December 2022.
  21. ↑ "A Conversation with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba: One Year Since Russia's Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine". Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: One Year Since Russia's Invasion of Ukraine". Belfer Center. YouTube. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Ukraine - Security Council meeting (24 February 2023)". United Nations. YouTube. 24 February 2023.
  24. ↑ "UN Weekly Roundup: February 18-24, 2023". Voice of America. 24 February 2023.
  25. ↑ "China yet to decide on Ukraine peacemaker role, says Kyiv". Financial Times. 29 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "African Nations Plan Russia-Ukraine Peace Mission, Ramaphosa Says". Bloomberg. 16 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "African Leaders Head to Ukraine, Russia on Peace Mission". VOA News. 14 June 2023.
  28. ↑ "World Fencing Championships: Ukraine's Olga Kharlan disqualified for refusing Russian Anna Smirnov's handshake". BBC. 27 July 2023.
  29. ↑ Aadi Nair (27 July 2023). "Ukrainian fencer disqualified from world championships for refusing handshake with Russian opponent; Olga Kharlan offered to touch blades after beating Anna Smirnova, who then staged a sit-down protest at the handshake refusal". The Independent.
  30. ↑ Borger, Julian (27 July 2023). "Ukraine calls for disqualified fencer to be reinstated after anti-Russia protest". The Guardian.
  31. ↑ "UK Foreign Sec David Cameron and Ukraine FM Dmytro Kuleba discuss the war at Davos 2024". Sky News. YouTube. 17 January 2024.
  32. ↑ "Ви житимете в Україні, яка буде членом ЄС, - Дмитро Кулеба в День Гідності та Свободи провів урок у київській школі | Кабінет Міністрів України". 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  33. ↑ "Дмитро Кулеба: Вступ України до НАТО - це питання часу | Кабінет Міністрів України". 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. ↑ "Україна вступить до НАТО - Кулеба назвав наступний крок - новини України - Політичні новини України | Сьогодні". 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  35. ↑ "Україна - НАТО - в Кабміні розповіли про новий формат співпраці | РБК-Україна". 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  36. ↑ "Чи покарає Путіна суд щодо MH17 і коли буде компенсація за збитий Іраном Boeing - Кулеба розповів в інтерв'ю | СЬОГОДНІ". 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  37. ↑ "We Know How To Win. And We Will." - Dmytro Kuleba, Minister Of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine, retrieved 22 September 2022
  38. ↑ Kuleba, Dmytro. "War for Reality How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities". Frankfurt Rights. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  39. ↑ "Інститут світової політики назвав топ-послів 2017 року". glavcom.ua. 21 December 2017.
  40. ↑ "Сайт знаходиться на реконструкції". iwp.org.ua. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  41. ↑ "Євгенія Кулеба. Депутатка Київської міської ради, засновниця ГО «Місто-сад». Епізод 02". youtube.com. 13 April 2023.
  42. ↑ "Yevhenia Kuleba headed the list of "Servants of the People" in the Kyiv City Council elections" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 20 September 2020.
  43. ↑ "Rada appoints next elections to local self-govt bodies for Oct 25". Interfax-Ukraine. 15 July 2020.
  44. ↑ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №669/2021". president.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 18 December 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  45. ↑ "DEKRETAS DĖL APDOVANOJIMO LIETUVOS VALSTYBĖS ORDINAIS IR MEDALIAIS". e-seimas.lrs.lt (in Lithuanian). 5 July 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
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