Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disbanded its dedicated Middle East and North Africa department and recalled experienced Arabist diplomats to Kyiv. The move comes as Russia actively recruits mercenaries in Arab countries for its war against Ukraine.
International affairs expert Mohammad Farajallah highlighted the issue during an appearance on political analyst Yuriy Romanenko's channel.
According to the expert, the flow of foreign mercenaries from the Russian side has been ongoing for three years, and the arrival of new recruits poses a serious threat that Ukraine should be addressing as a priority. Farajallah noted that Iraq's Ambassador to Ukraine is deeply sensitive to reports of Iraqis fighting on the aggressor's side, as he considers Ukraine a friendly nation.
However, the expert claims that diplomatic efforts are hitting a bureaucratic and strategic vacuum in Kyiv.
"Upon arriving in Ukraine, this ambassador reached out to the Foreign Ministry several times. To where? To the Middle East department. Listen to this, Yura: it has been disbanded. The MFA no longer has a Middle East and North Africa department. It's gone," Farajallah stated.
The expert pointed to a lack of strategic vision for the region at the national level.
"At the national strategic level, we simply don't see the Middle East. Apparently, it doesn't deserve a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he emphasized.
The situation is complicated by the fact that, unlike Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Ministry maintains separate desks for almost every country in the region. Farajallah also pointed to the Ukrainian ministry's baffling personnel policy: the few specialists who speak Arabic and had media clout in the region were recalled to the capital.
"There are individual diplomats in Ukraine—I know them, there are only a few—who speak fluent Arabic, who appeared in Arab media, who somehow diluted this darkness. They have been recalled from their posts and are now sitting in Kyiv," the expert noted.
Despite this, thanks to the efforts of the Iraqi diplomatic mission and individual Ukrainian patriots, some results have been achieved: Iraqi intelligence has begun monitoring visa issuance to Russia to prevent recruitment. However, Farajallah considers it a failure that Ukraine is not using this case systematically for information warfare in the Arab world to demonstrate the dangers of cooperation with the Russian Federation.
Commenting on the situation, Yuriy Romanenko suggested possible sabotage.
"I have a feeling that a fifth column is really operating here. To ensure total darkness," the analyst concluded.
Watch the full video of the conversation: