“His activity opens every door.” Former Ambassador to the US Stefanishyna recalled what it was like to work with Zelensky

Former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanishyna said that President Volodymyr Zelensky's activity helped Ukrainian diplomats build contacts with American partners. According to her, the head of state is ready for unexpected decisions, but his public appearances and international meetings facilitated diplomatic work. She spoke about this in an interview with Glavkom.

Stefanishyna noted that she began working as ambassador after five years in the government. She met the full-scale Russian invasion while serving as deputy prime minister, so she had extensive experience of direct cooperation with Zelensky.

“I became ambassador after five years of work in the government. I encountered the full-scale invasion in the status of deputy prime minister, and we—together with the president—went through a lot. He is an incredibly active person: he has a very lively mind, he listens to many people and is ready for unexpected, unorthodox decisions. I always tried to use the full arsenal of my connections and opportunities to strengthen him,” she said.

The former diplomat assured that during her work in Washington she had access to information about key international contacts of the president. She said she participated in almost all of Zelensky's meetings with American partners, and learned about negotiations in European countries through her own diplomatic connections.

“I was almost at all the meetings that the president held with American partners. If the meetings took place in Europe, I also knew what was happening through my connections with Europeans, who met whom and what they talked about,” Stefanishyna noted.

She also emphasized that she maintained constant contact not only with the head of state but also with the Ukrainian negotiating team. “I always had a direct line to the president, to the negotiating team—Kyryl Budanov, Serhiy Kyrylytsia. So I cannot say there were any information restrictions,” the former ambassador explained.

Answering the question whether diplomats had to correct the consequences of Zelensky's public statements, Stefanishyna said that his activity, on the contrary, created additional opportunities for work.

“His activity only added to everyone. I even told Volodymyr Oleksandrovych that any of his interviews, public communications, or successful bilateral meetings open all doors,” she stressed.

According to Stefanishyna, one of her main tasks was to ensure that Ukrainian leadership had full information about the internal political situation in the United States. This allowed determining which diplomatic and information steps would be most effective.

In particular, it was about choosing the optimal time for contact with senators, members of the House of Representatives, representatives of the American administration, and the media.

“I saw my task as ensuring that those who make decisions in Kyiv had a complete picture before they act. So there would be an understanding of whether any public communication would harm or, on the contrary, push toward certain decisions. It was important to choose with whom to communicate at a given moment—for example with senators, congressmen, when to ask for a call with the President of the United States, when to give an interview on television. These aren’t random events. For this, I even invented a format where I daily informed about the overall picture of events in the United States, and depending on this picture, one could understand where to strengthen or possibly weaken Ukraine's media presence,” the diplomat said.

Stefanishyna believes that systematically tracking political processes inside the United States remains an important but underappreciated tool of diplomatic work. “This function of monitoring the internal context, in my opinion, is greatly undervalued. I would develop it now as well, had I decided to continue this work,” she added.

Separately, the former ambassador commented on Zelensky's active presence in the American information space against the backdrop of worsening relations between Kyiv and Washington. In her view, the public statements of the Ukrainian president remain necessary even when his statements may provoke discontent from American leadership.

“In any crisis situation, it is important to have the opportunity to convey truthful information, narrow the field for manipulation. Media presence, when we again find ourselves at the center of public debates in the United States, is important,” Stefanishyna emphasized.

She also spoke about the circumstances of her dismissal from the diplomatic post. According to Stefanishyna, before leaving she discussed the situation in detail with Zelensky, but the president did not demand her resignation.

“Of course, I discussed in enough detail with the president all the circumstances that forced me to make such a decision. I will not comment on my personal conversations with him, but he did not demand my resignation. At this stage of my life, I unfortunately cannot combine the role of ambassador or any political activity with the needs I must now meet for my family. I am speaking about my children, my parents, and other close people,” she explained.

As a reminder, Olha Stefanishyna held the position of deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, and later headed Ukraine's diplomatic mission to the United States. In early August 2026 she left the post of ambassador, explaining her decision with personal and family circumstances. In an interview with Glavkom, Stefanishyna emphasized that President Volodymyr Zelensky did not demand her resignation.