Yuriy Pivovarov

Pivovarov was born on July 6, 1962, in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union.^[1] He is the nephew of Valeriy Pivovarov, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Guinea from 1993 to 1998, and renowned Ukrainian basketball player Inesa Pivovarova.^[2] His son, Yehor Pivovarov, was the Ukrainian ambassador to Belgium in 2021.^[3] Between 2018 and 2020, Pivovarov served as the deputy director of the Middle East and Africa sector of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[4]

On April 28, 2021, Pivovarov was appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the Ambassador Extraordinary of Ukraine to Senegal.^[4] His credentials were accepted by Senegalese president Macky Sall in November 2021.^[5] At the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Pivovarov gave an interview with the Senegalese newspaper Le Soleil.^[6] In March 2022, the Senegalese government protested a social media call by the Ukrainian government calling on Senegalese to join Ukraine's fight against Russia.^[7] On May 4, 2022, he was appointed ambassador extraordinary of Ukraine to Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.^[8][9][10]

In 2024, the Senegalese government chastised Pivovarov for posting a video of Ukraine's support of the Azawad Liberation Front's attacks at the Battle of Tinzaouaten.^[11] Russian-funded media and Russian diplomats in the Alliance of Sahel States - Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger - encouraged Senegal to break off relations with Ukraine.^[12]

On February 2, 2026, Pivovarov was dismissed.^[13]