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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States remains vacant, but several possible candidates are already being discussed in government circles. Among the contenders are military figures, diplomats, and even politicians, sources close to the authorities say. One of the names mentioned in conversations is Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa. The candidacy of former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is also being considered.
According to sources at RBC-Ukraine, Palisa was considered because of his status as a military figure, since at the Office of the President he mostly handles the defense sector. An argument in his favor was that US President Donald Trump reportedly called Palisa his “favorite soldier” in Ukraine. At the same time, Palisa’s important role in his current position could become an obstacle, and for now he remains alongside President Zelensky in Kyiv.
In any case, if someone from the current officials does go to Washington, for example from Bankova, it would force a partial reconfiguration of the entire diplomatic track, and that factor is also being taken into account, an informed interlocutor explained to the publication.
In addition to Palisa and Kuleba, sources named other surnames among military figures, diplomats, and politicians in conversations with journalists, but President Zelensky has not yet made a final decision.
The search for a candidate has dragged on due to candidates declining
The problem with appointing an ambassador to Washington arose after Olga Stefanishyna’s resignation in early August. President Zelensky offered the post to then-Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, but she declined. According to Politico, potential candidates are reluctant to take on the exhausting work in Donald Trump’s unpredictable administration at a critical moment of the war.
Opposition MP and former Vice Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze explained why candidates avoid this post.
“They fear they will not have the conditions necessary to properly carry out this work,” the MP said.
According to her, without the president’s trust or direct access to him, a candidate’s chances of performing the job properly sharply narrow, so in practice the candidate must come from the narrow circle of Zelensky’s trusted people.
Earlier, Informator reported that Stefanishyna was dismissed from the post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the US by decree dated 3 August, and the diplomat herself said she decided to resign voluntarily for personal reasons.
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