The ambassador of the United States to Ukraine is the highest-ranking diplomatic position of the United States in Ukraine. The U.S. ambassadors are nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to Ukraine. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate;[1] while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.[2] Ambassadors are under the jurisdiction of the Department of State and answer directly to the secretary of state; however, ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the President", meaning they can be dismissed at any time. Appointments change regularly for various reasons, such as reassignment or retirement. An ambassador may be a career Foreign Service Officer (career diplomat – CD) or a political appointee (PA). In most cases, career foreign service officers serve a tour of approximately three years per ambassadorship, whereas political appointees customarily tender their resignations upon the inauguration of a new American president. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine resides in Kyiv, the country's capital and location of the U.S. Embassy.
The U.S. recognized Ukraine's independence on 25 December 1991 and the following year, opened an embassy and appointed the first American ambassador to the country on 21 January 1992. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declared the nation's independence on August 24, 1991. On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted to approve the declaration by a wide margin. The United States recognized Ukraine on December 26, 1991, and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was established on January 23, 1992, with Jon Gundersen as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador was commissioned in May 1992. In January 2022, the embassy requested the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families as the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis escalated.[3]
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