Kristina Kvien, Chargé d’affaires Ad interim, of the United States Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, visited the city of Lviv on 2 May 2022.  This is her first reported visit to Lviv since prior to 24 February 2022 when the armed forces of the Russian Federation commenced its attack upon Ukraine. The United States Embassy in Ukraine ceased operation on 14 February 2022.  Ms. Kvien reported that representatives of the United States Department of State have recently been making “day trips” to Ukraine which would continue during the next weeks prior to returning on a permanent basis.

On 23 April 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, reported during a video address that twenty-one (21) embassies are re-opening in Kyiv and some embassies which remained operational (Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See (the Vatican), Estonia, Georgia, Poland among others) are welcoming back ambassadors. Ambassadors to Ukraine from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, European Union, France, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and United Kingdom have returned or are returning to their respective embassies. Prior to 24 February 2022, Kyiv hosted approximately fifty-eight (58) embassies.

Background

Since 1 January 2020, a career foreign service officer, Kristina Kvien has served as Chargé d'affaires (person in charge of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country) Ad interim (for the time being) at the United States Embassy in Kyiv.  Ms. Kvien arrived at the United States Embassy in Kyiv on 28 May 2019.      

The last United States Ambassador to Ukraine was Marie Yovanovitch (18 May 2016 to 20 May 2019), a career foreign service officer, appointed during the Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017) and relieved during the Trump-Pence Administration (2017-2021).  Previously, Geoffrey Pyatt (15 August 2013 to 18 August 2016), a career foreign service officer, served as United States Ambassador to Ukraine.  

Since 2013, there have been five individuals appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States: Olexander Motsyk (June 2010 to April 2015), Yaroslav Brisiuck (25 July 2015 to 10 July 2015), Valeriy Chaly (10 July 2015 to 19 July 2019), Volodymyr Yelchenko (19 December 2019 to 25 February 2021), and Oksana Markarova (25 February 2021- Present).  

Kvien Biography 

“From 2016 – April 2019, she served as Acting DCM/Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy Paris.  Previously, Kristina served as Acting DCM and Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand; Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy London; and Director for European Union, Ukraine, and Belarus Affairs at the National Security Council in the Executive Office of the President.  Kristina has also served at U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia; the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium; and the U.S. Embassy Manila, Philippines.  At the Department of State in Washington, DC, Kristina worked on European Union issues and on bilateral relations with Slovenia.  Kristina is a native of California, with a BA in Political Science from Occidental College and an MS in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.” 

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