(Kyiv) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday to choose his outgoing vice-premier Olga Stefanichyna as next ambassador to the United States, seen as an essential ally to fight the Russian invasion started over three years ago.
Ukraine is going through a vast government reshuffle, supposed to give a new political impetus after years of war.
Olga Stefanichyna will first be called “special representative” for cooperation with the United States, said Volodymyr Zelensky.
This title is supposed to allow him to start his work while finalizing the “necessary procedures” so that her appointment as an ambassador in the country is approved, a process that can be long.
The manager, born in 1985, will work “to maintain the dynamics” with the United States, he said.
The position of ambassador in Washington is crucial because the United States is Ukraine’s first military support against Russia.
The return of the unpredictable Donald Trump to the White House in January, however, transformed relations between the two countries.
Donald Trump has clearly criticized aid to Ukraine encrypted at several tens of billions of dollars granted by his predecessor Joe Biden, while approaching Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But he turned this week this week, announcing a large rearmament of Ukraine via an agreement with NATO and giving Russia 50 days to find a peace agreement, under penalty of sanctions.
If his appointment is confirmed, Olga Stefanichyna will replace the Oksana Markarova ambassador.
The latter, in office since the beginning of 2021, helped organize the launch of the aid when the invasion was triggered and cultivated good relations with the Biden administration.
This good understanding became a source of problems when Donald Trump’s return to power, a great opponent of Joe Biden, the political analyst Volodymyr Fessenko told AFP.
Olga Stefanichyna has so far been Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
It had been involved in harsh negotiations with the United States concerning the agreement on the exploitation of Ukrainian minerals.
The appointment of Olga Stefanichyna is unexpected, Volodymyr Zelensky who first hinted that this post would be intended for the Minister of Defense outgoing, Roustem Oumerov.
MP Iaroslav Jeleznyak explained that this appointment required Washington approval. “And here they have not obtained it,” he said, without more explanations.
