On Wednesday, May 18, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved veteran diplomat Bridget Brink to be ambassador to Ukraine. "She will fill a critical post that has been vacant for three years as Washington works to increase support for the government in Kyiv," Reuters reported. Both President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats and Republicans had urged Brink's quick confirmation. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Brink unanimously earlier on Wednesday, after holding the relevant hearing. Biden announced the nomination on April 25.
Soon she will be sworn in and will start working in Kyiv in June.
Brink's Senate confirmation came on the same day that the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv reopened after a three-month closure due to Russia's invasion.
A Michigan native who speaks Russian, Brink is currently U.S. ambassador to Slovakia. A diplomat for 25 years, she has worked in Uzbekistan and Georgia as well as in several senior positions across the State Department and White House National Security Council.
There has not been a U.S. ambassador in Kyiv since May 2019, when Trump recalled then ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.
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