US ambassador to Ukraine stepping down, State Department says

By Erin Banco and Humeyra Pamuk

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink is stepping down from her role, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, in a move that injects new uncertainty into the relationship between Washington and Kyiv.

Reuters reported earlier that Brink was considering stepping down and leaving the foreign service, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter.

"Ambassador Brink is stepping down. She’s been the ambassador there for three years – that’s a long time in a war zone," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed response.

Brink was nominated for the post by former President Joe Biden and has served as ambassador in Kyiv since May 2022. She is leaving on her own accord, the sources said.

Brink is one of the highest-ranking career diplomats to leave the State Department since President Donald Trump took office on January 20. She joins other departing veteran officials with decades of experience, such as the agency's No. 3 official John Bass, who stepped aside in January.

Her departure comes as the Trump administration tries to broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that started with Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. Washington has tried to implement two limited ceasefire agreements in recent weeks - one for energy infrastructure and one in the Black Sea - but both have fallen through.

It is unclear who will take over as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said Chris Smith, the deputy assistant secretary for Eastern Europe and policy and regional affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, is being considered. Smith previously served as deputy chief of mission in the U.S. embassy in Kyiv from 2022 to 2023.

Brink, who has overseen the transition between two administrations with vastly different Ukraine policies, was recently criticized in Ukraine for her response to a Russian strike that hit a playground in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih and killed 11 adults and nine children.

On social media platform X, Brink posted about the strike, but did not mention Russia.

Zelenskiy criticized the U.S. embassy, saying on X its response was "surprisingly disappointing."

“Such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction,” Zelenskiy said. “They are afraid to even say the word ‘Russian’ when speaking about the missile that murdered children.”

There was no indication that this episode was a factor in Brink's departure.

While political appointees typically submit their resignations when a new president takes office, most career foreign service officers continue from one administration to the next, even as the incoming president has the right to install new officials to those positions.

Sources said Brink is likely to leave in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by Erin Banco and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)