Liubov Aleksandrivna Abravitova ( Ukrainian: Любов Олександрівна Абравітова; born 5 November 1980) is a Ukrainian diplomat who is currently serving as the Ukrainian Ambassador to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in office since 2020. Previously, she served as the Ambassador to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

from 2021 until 2024 and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

from 2021 until 2025.

Early life and education

Abravitova was born on 5 November 1980 in Bender in the

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

and grew up in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. She graduated from the Odesa National University with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and then from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

with a

Master of Advanced Studies A Master of Advanced Studies (MASt or MAS), or Master of Advanced Study, is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working professio ...

specialising in European security issues.

Diplomatic career

Abravitova started working for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in March 2003. She has been overseas in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

), and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

). While stationed in Belgium, she served as the vice-consul and was responsible for

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. Between 2007 and 2009, she was press attaché at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Abravitova was the Counsellor of the Middle East and Africa Department of the foreign affairs ministry before she became counsellor of the Ukrainian embassy in South Africa in January 2017. She was appointed chargé d'affaire of Ukraine in South Africa in August 2019. On 14 April 2020, Abravitova was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to South Africa by president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

. The Ukrainian Association of South Africa welcomed her appointment. She presented her credentials to South African president

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

on 19 November 2020. On 17 June 2021, Abravitova was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Botswana as well as to Mozambique on a part-time basis by Zelenskyy. She presented her letters of credence to Mozambican president

Filipe Nyusi Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (; born 9 February 1959) is a Mozambican politician who was the fourth president of Mozambique from 2015 to 2025. He has also served as the Chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2020 to 2022. During his ...

on 17 September 2021 and to Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi on 20 October 2021. On 19 August 2024, Abravitova was sacked as ambassador to Botswana by Zelenskyy and replaced with Oleksiy Syvak. She was dismissed as ambassador to Mozambique and replaced with Rostyslav Tronenko on 8 January 2025. She now only serves as Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa.

Russo-Ukrainian War

Liubov Abravitova 2022 press club - cropped

On 3 March 2022, Abravitova described South Africa's decision to abstain on a

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

vote to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "puzzling" and "unacceptable". On 10 April 2022, Abravitova made a tweet in which she said that 45 days after Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she had not had a requested meeting with South African president Ramaphosa and International Relations and Cooperation minister

Naledi Pandor Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor (née Matthews; born 7 December 1953) is a South African politician, educator and academic who served as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation from 2019 until 2024. She also served as a Parliament o ...

. The tweet was criticised by the Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Clayson Monyela. Abravitova responded to Monyela's criticism by saying that her people are "dying, tortured, raped." On 19 November 2024, Abravitova called on the South African government to be consistent in its calls for world peace amid its inconsistent stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine while it held a proactive stance on the Israel-Hamas War.

Personal life

Abravitova is fluent in Ukrainian, English,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abravitova, Liubov Living people 1980 births People from Bender, Moldova Moldovan emigrants to Ukraine Ukrainian women ambassadors Ambassadors of Ukraine to Botswana Ambassadors of Ukraine to South Africa Ambassadors of Ukraine to Mozambique University of Geneva alumni Odesa University alumni 21st-century diplomats