Ljubljana - Andriy Taran, Ukraine's new ambassador, presented his credentials to President Borut Pahor on Friday, thus formally starting his service in Slovenia.

Taran, a former Ukrainian defence minister, succeeds as ambassador Mykhailo Brodovych, who has served in Slovenia since 2015.

He was appointed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in early May.

Serving as Ukraine's defence minister from March 2020 to November 2021, Taran, 67, is a retired lieutenant general who had formerly served as a military attaché at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, US, and the deputy head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.