Acting US Ambassador to Kyiv Julie Davis to Step Down, Retire in June 2026

The acting US ambassador to Kyiv Julie Davis will step down from her post and retire, a US official and the State Department said on Tuesday, amid a lull in US-brokered talks to achieve a ceasefire and end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Financial Times first reported Davis' departure and said it was because of differences of opinion with President Donald Trump's policies and that Davis had grown frustrated with her role over his dwindling support for Ukraine. The State Department pushed back on that characterisation, saying it was "false" to say she was leaving over differences with Trump. "Ambassador Davis has been a steadfast proponent of the Trump administration's efforts to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine," Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. "She will continue to proudly advance President Trump's policies until she officially departs Kyiv in June 2026 and retires from the department," Pigott added. A career member of the US Foreign Service with more than three decades of experience, Davis assumed her duties as charge d'affaires in Ukraine in May 2025 after her predecessor Bridget Brink, also a career diplomat, resigned over her objections to Trump's Ukraine policy.