Zelensky promised Trump to appoint a new ambassador to Washington

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised Donald Trump that he will replace Ukraine's ambassador to Washington during a major cabinet reshuffle in Kiev, likely next week, the Financial Times reported today, citing several officials familiar with the matter. Trump and Zelensky discussed the replacement of Ambassador Oksana Markarova - who many Trump allies in Congress see as too close to the Democrats - by phone on Friday and agreed that their teams would hold further consultations on potential candidates to consider, the FT reported, citing its sources. The ambassadorial change appears to be an attempt by Zelensky to appease the US president at a sensitive time for Ukraine, after the White House suspended the delivery of key weapons last week. Zelensky is trying to appoint a good negotiator as ambassador, a senior Ukrainian official involved in the process said.This is part of the planned reshuffle: the Ukrainian leader is likely to reshuffle his government again next week, three officials close to the president say. Zelensky has reshuffled his government several times since the war began. Balazs Jarabik, a former EU diplomat in Kiev, sees the upcoming changes as a response to growing political, economic and social pressure. Rather than signaling a change in strategic direction, the reshuffle appears aimed at containing discontent, projecting a sense of renewal and maintaining control amid mounting pressure on multiple fronts, he said.

​​The cabinet reshuffle would be the second since September, when Zelensky declared that new energy was needed to move the country forward and dismissed Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, sparking alarm in Western capitals, where Kuleba was widely respected and seen as a reliable interlocutor.The current reshuffle, according to four Ukrainian officials cited by the paper, was orchestrated by Zelensky’s powerful cabinet chief, Andriy Yermak, who is reportedly seeking to consolidate greater control over the government. Kuleba was replaced in the latest cabinet reshuffle by diplomat and Yermak ally Andriy Sybiha.

Those who could replace Markarova as ambassador to Washington include Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Energy Minister German Galushchenko, Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva, among others, the report said.Shmyhal, a technocrat who has survived several cabinet reshuffles, is considered one of the few independent people left in government, and will likely be replaced as prime minister by Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian officials said. quoted by Ft. Deputy Prime Minister Svyridenko is a close ally of Yermak and is believed to have established a good relationship with Trump's team after leading negotiations on the Kiev-Washington minerals deal with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Andriy is promoting his protégé, his student, someone who is fully loyal to him: Yulia Svyrydenko, notes Mariana Bezuhla, a Ukrainian MP and member of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.