Zaluzhny was not invited to a meeting with the British minister; what the OP says
Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi and the presidential administration hold differing views on why the meeting with UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting took place without the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, according to Європейська правда.
As reported, it became known on Wednesday that newly appointed UK Defence Secretary Streeting was visiting Ukraine. "EP" noted that the UK ambassador appears in unofficial photos and videos from the event, but the Ukrainian ambassador does not.
People close to Zaluzhnyi claim the reason is that the ambassador was not informed about the event.
"Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi was not invited to the meeting between the President of Ukraine and the UK Defence Secretary", – Zaluzhnyi’s press secretary Oksana Torop told "EuroPravda".
Presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn, for his part, told "EuroPravda" that Zaluzhnyi should have proactively initiated his own participation, but did not do so and chose a different engagement instead.
"This is a proactive matter (for official visits) when the level is below prime minister or president."
"There is a longstanding, well-established protocol practice under which, with the prime minister or president of another country, the ambassador to that country almost always attends; but if the level is lower, each ambassador independently decides and reports whether they will (take part in the meeting – EP). Today, as far as we know, the Ambassador is participating in Foreign Ministry events as part of the annual conference of ambassadors", – Lytvyn stated.
However, according to EP sources, not confirmed by an official comment, Zaluzhnyi learned about the meeting only after it had already taken place – and therefore had no opportunity to express his wish to attend.
The editorial team does not know for certain to what extent Ukraine’s embassy in London, which answers to Zaluzhnyi, was involved in preparing the visit.
Meanwhile, the asymmetry between the Ukrainian and UK delegations stands out.
As a reminder, Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi is indeed attending the general meeting of ambassadors, where on Monday he made a striking statement that Ukraine "will never become a NATO member", contrary to its constitutional provision.
It was also reported that the UK Defence Secretary visited Kyiv for the first time and met with Zelenskyy.
