WASHINGTON – U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink will resign from the position she’s held for three years, the Department of State confirmed at a press briefing Thursday, further putting into question American relations with the war-torn country.
Appointed by President Joe Biden, Brink served as the top diplomat in Kyiv since May 2022, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, so her entire tenure was defined by the war.
“During a time of war for those three years, an extraordinary performance there, and we wish her well,” Tammy Bruce, the department’s spokesperson, said to reporters.
It was unclear why Brink, a career diplomat originally from Michigan, resigned or who would succeed her, but the decision complicated the already strained relationship with Ukraine.
For weeks, the U.S. has been mediating between Russia and Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire deal, but the former has dragged its feet in accepting the conditions President Donald Trump has proposed.
One international affairs expert said Brink’s departure could be beneficial for the Trump administration.
“It’s likely to improve relations with Ukraine,” said Dr. Keith Darden, an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University. “In principle, it’s not a great thing to have your ambassador step down in the middle of a very sensitive set of negotiations, but in this case, I think that Ukraine could probably have a better representative for this particular U.S. administration.”
He said a better representative of this administration would be a Republican and likely a businessperson.
“She was very much tied to the previous administration,” Darden said. “I think she was a good ambassador when the United States was backing Ukraine in the war. She’s not a good ambassador for a Trump administration that’s trying to extract the United States from the war and get a settlement that probably isn’t going to be terribly favorable to Ukraine.”
Brink’s departure announcement came the same day Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a Russian American who was arrested last year, in exchange for Russian prisoner Arthur Petrov.
Brink has expressed support for Ukraine throughout the war on social media, most recently posting Wednesday.
“Today I paid my respects to the families & loved ones of those killed, including 9 children, in a Russian cluster missile attack in Kryvyi Rih on April 4,” Brink wrote on X. “This horrible attack underscores the urgency of a full ceasefire & a just and lasting peace.”
Past presidential administrations have taken a hardline position in supporting Ukraine and opposing Russia, but Trump has taken a different approach by directly working with both parties.
A 29-year State Department employee, Brink was the U.S. ambassador to the Slovak Republic before Ukraine, according to the State Department’s website.
“She was an excellent ambassador for her time,” Darden said. “But this is not her time.”