President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, Aug. 3, addressed Ukrainian ambassadors from around the world gathered in Kyiv to receive the president’s new guidance and vision for Ukrainian diplomacy at this stage: namely, to get host countries to provide weapons ahead of a difficult winter. The speech was lengthy, and the list of demands extensive, but ultimately, they boiled down to two key messages.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Here’s what the messages were and why they are important, against the prior role of Ukrainian embassies. Old context of Ukrainian diplomacy To understand Zelensky’s speech, it is important to recognize that diplomacy has never been one of the Ukrainian state’s strongest institutions. Even during Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency, ambassadorial appointments have often been viewed as a form of “honorable retirement.” For example, former Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, former Social Policy Minister Yulia Sokolovska, and former Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin all received ambassadorial appointments after leaving their previous positions. Kostin was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands; his predecessor, Iryna Venediktova, became ambassador to Switzerland in the autumn of 2022, with concurrent accreditation to Liechtenstein. These appointments were criticized because many of those selected were not professional or career diplomats. One of the most controversial examples was Andriy Taran, appointed ambassador to Slovenia in the spring of 2022. The former defense minister had been dismissed in the autumn of 2021 amid a scandal over failed defense procurement. Little became known about his work in Slovenia, and he left the post in 2024.