Zelenskyy spoke with Trump on replacing Kyiv's envoy to US

Daryna Krasnolutska, Bloomberg News on Jul 7, 2025

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed replacing the current ambassador to the U.S. during his phone call with President Donald Trump on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is on the list of potential candidates to become Kyiv’s envoy to Washington alongside Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Energy Minister German Galushchenko, the person said speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks are private.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

The potential replacement of the current envoy Oksana Markarova comes at a delicate moment in Ukraine’s relations with the U.S. Trump administration last week halted the transfer of artillery rounds and air defense to Ukraine, a move that took Zelenskyy’s government and allies off guard.

The U.S. president’s attempts to broker peace in talks with Moscow have also failed to end the war, which is currently into its fourth year. Meanwhile, Russia has been pounding Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with record numbers of drones and missiles.

Speculation about replacing Markarova, who has stayed on as ambassador after her term officially ended, intensified late last year after Trump’s return to the White House.

Markarova, a former Finance Minister, became Ukraine’s first female ambassador to the U.S. when appointed in February 2021. She was praised for building relations with ex-President Joe Biden’s administration, helping to ramp up support for her country when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

In September, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent a letter to Zelenskyy urging Markarova’s dismissal, citing her actions ahead of U.S. elections. Ukraine’s envoy had helped organize Zelenskyy’s visit to an artillery plant in Pennsylvania — a swing state — a move some Republicans decried as political interference.

Zelenskyy has instructed his Foreign Ministry to discuss the appointment of Ukraine’s next ambassador with U.S. counterparts, the person said. Kyiv is seeking U.S. views of its candidates in a bid for smooth cooperation with the Trump administration, the person added.

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—With assistance from Stephanie Lai and Volodymyr Verbianyi.