"This is a rather lengthy process." Ukraine's Foreign Ministry comments on replacement of ambassador to the US
Georgiy Tykhyi (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Oksana Markarova will indeed resign as Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, but replacing the head of the diplomatic mission is a rather lengthy process. This was announced at a briefing by Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi.

He reminded that Markarova's replacement has already been confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.

"I can confirm that, first of all, the average tenure of Ukrainian ambassadors is about four years. This is also the usual period of rotation in the system. There are more, there are less," Tychyi said.

According to him, Markarov has been in office for about this long, so it is "a natural and logical story that a replacement is being prepared".

"Diplomatically, it's a long, long process to replace an ambassador," he added, explaining that a request needs to be submitted to the foreign party and all the necessary procedures need to be followed.

Tychyi emphasized that this is a "rather lengthy process" that could take months. He said that about 20 presidential decrees are expected to be issued regarding the dismissal and appointment of ambassadors.

"You will learn most of these decrees in the context of our ambassadorial meeting, which will take place on July 21," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

BACKGROUND.

Markarova has served as Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States since February 2021. She is associated with a scandal that occurred at the height of the US election campaign: in September 2024, a Ukrainian delegation led by Zelenskyy visited a defense company in Pennsylvania that manufactures shells for Ukraine.

The event was attended by the local governor and Democratic lawmakers, but no Republican representatives were present. Afterward, the latter initiated an investigation in the House of Representatives, and its speaker, Johnson, wrote a letter to Zelenskyy demanding that Markarova be fired "immediately." However, this did not lead to her resignation.