US Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine to Depart Amid Shifts in Washington’s Ukraine Policy

The US acting Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine, Julie Davis, is set to leave her post in Kyiv within the next few weeks, according to reports from the Financial Times. The move comes amid apparent policy disagreements with US President Donald Trump, who has reportedly scaled back Washington’s support for Ukraine after his return to the White House.

Davis has informed the US State Department of her decision, with sources indicating that she plans to retire from diplomatic service after a 30-year career. Her departure will leave a critical diplomatic vacancy in Kyiv at a time when Russia appears to be preparing for a renewed offensive in the ongoing conflict, and peace negotiations have stalled.

Diplomatic Tensions and Policy Shifts

Tommy Piggott, a spokesperson for the State Department, dismissed claims that Davis’s exit was due to disagreements with Trump, stating that Davis has consistently supported the current administration’s efforts "to achieve a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine." He added that she will continue to represent the US administration’s policies with pride until her planned departure in June 2026.

"She will continue to proudly carry out the president’s policy until her official departure from Kyiv in June 2026 and retirement from the State Department," said Piggott.

However, reports suggest that Davis’s planned departure follows a pattern of diplomatic tensions under the Trump administration’s second term. Earlier in April 2025, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink resigned, citing pressure from the White House that favored Ukraine less and instead pressured Kiev, contrasting with prior US policy. Brink, appointed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, was a steadfast advocate for military assistance to Ukraine.

Brink’s resignation reportedly followed a contentious meeting at the White House in February 2025 involving Trump, Vice President James David Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which Washington temporarily suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv for several weeks.

Julie Davis’s diplomatic career has been marked by confrontations with authoritarian regimes. In 2021, she was appointed US Ambassador to Belarus, but Minsk refused to accept her credentials due to her contacts with opposition figures including Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Subsequently, Davis served as US Special Envoy for Belarus in Lithuania and from February 2023 was US Ambassador to Cyprus before assuming her current role in Kyiv in May 2025.

The departure of Davis adds to a broader shift in US diplomatic engagement with Ukraine. In 2019, Marie Yovanovitch left her position as US Ambassador to Ukraine amid pressure from Trump, who sought investigations into political adversaries. Yovanovitch later testified at the congressional impeachment hearings against Trump related to a phone call with then-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

With Russia’s military preparations ongoing and diplomatic efforts at an impasse, the vacancy in the US diplomatic mission comes at a critical juncture for international support to Ukraine amid the evolving conflict landscape.