The leader of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, told the Ambassador of Ukraine to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vasily Kirilich, that he was no longer desirable in the republic, Slobodna Dalmacija reports..

This gesture was made by Dodik in response to the criticism voiced by Kirilich about the order, which the leader of the Republika Srpska recently presented to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin as part of the Republic Day celebration..

The Ambassador of Ukraine called this celebration " Therefore, Dodik called him persona non grata and said that for his country “it is an honor that Putin expressed his readiness to receive such an award”.

The presentation of the state award of the Republika Srpska to Putin caused indignation in the European Union. EU foreign and security policy spokesman says being on Putin's side as he wages a massive war in Ukraine means isolating the Republika Srpska and its power in the international arena.

Earlier, Milorad Dodik boasted that he is a rare European politician who can meet with the Russian president at any time..

On December 14, 2020, Milorad Dodik, who was the head of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented the icon of St. Nicholas to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

After that, the Embassy of Ukraine demanded an explanation of how the icon, which is almost 300 years old and was kept in the temporarily occupied Lugansk, got into the country.