Photo: EPA
Olha Stefanishyna announced that she had resigned as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States at her own request. According to her, the decision was driven by personal circumstances that had been mentioned earlier.
"This is my own decision, dictated by personal circumstances that were discussed previously," she wrote, adding that the main objectives of the plan she had brought to the United States had been accomplished.
On August 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 696/2026 dismissing Stefanishyna from the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States.
The decree does not specify the reason for her dismissal, and no successor has yet been announced.
Stefanishyna was appointed ambassador to the US on August 27, 2025. Before that, she served as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice.
Reports of her intention to step down due to personal circumstances first emerged in mid-July. At the time, sources said the decision had been made independently, while the Presidential Office reportedly gave a positive assessment of her diplomatic work.
Rustem Umerov and Yuliia Svyrydenko had previously been mentioned as possible candidates for the post. However, Umerov was appointed head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service on August 3, while a new ambassador to Washington has yet to be named.
