As U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing rapprochement with Russia, the country's embassy in Kyiv is facing internal strain.
Following the change in administration, Bridget Brink, who had been the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine since 2022, was caught in the hot seat.
Brink attempted to align with the new administration's tougher stance on Ukraine. She publicly backed the White House after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's disastrous Oval Office meeting.
The shift in rhetoric caught the eye of Ukrainian officials. Zelensky called the U.S. embassy out on their "weak" message following an especially deadly Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih in early April.
Finally, Brink resigned — on April 10, just 1.5 months short of the three-year mark on the post.
A source in the Western diplomat community in Kyiv said Brink left the city on April 21. The embassy wouldn't publicly confirm it or comment on the reasons for her resignation.
According to Western diplomats stationed in Kyiv, Brink resigned over "policy disagreements" with Washington.
Brink is the highest-ranking but not the first U.S. Kyiv embassy member to leave over disagreements with Trump's strategy on Ukraine.
Foreign Service Officer Kraig Cook, part of the embassy's press service, resigned in February, shortly before the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office meeting.
In his resignation letter, seen by the Kyiv Independent, Cook criticized Trump's administration's "parroting Kremlin talking points" and called the U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal "predatory."
He also criticized the embassy's leadership's "deafening silence."
Cook told the Kyiv Independent that many U.S. embassy employees in Kyiv are concerned about the Trump administration's policy shift and its alignment with Russia.
The U.S. embassy in Kyiv declined to comment.
Asami Terajima
Oval Office meeting ‘wasn’t a red line’
Prior to the 2024 presidential election, Brink's actions and rhetoric had closely reflected then-President Joe Biden's policies.
"Brink did incredible work to build support for Ukraine, deftly navigating the sometimes hapless Biden administration and a divided Congress to deliver aid that helped Ukraine fight back against Russia's invasion," Cook told the Kyiv Independent.
He said that there were delays in U.S. assistance, but "Ambassador Brink was behind the scenes, working hard to minimize those delays as much as possible."
"There were some voices in the Biden administration that were not as supportive of assistance to Ukraine," he added. "I think Ambassador Brink was very strong in convincing those people why this was important for U.S. security and U.S. foreign policy to support Ukraine."
After Trump took office, Brink changed her rhetoric.
Publicly, a watershed moment came on Feb. 28, when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance lashed out at Zelensky during a meeting at the White House.
Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of not being grateful for the U.S. assistance, among other things. In an unprecedented move, Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation were ordered to leave the White House ahead of schedule.
The U.S. embassy in Kyiv didn’t comment on the disastrous meeting, but Brink’s official account retweeted Trump's harsh X post that followed it. In the post, Trump claimed that Zelensky was "not ready for peace" and that he "disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office."
Brink also retweeted Secretary of State Marco Rubio's post in which he thanked Trump "for standing up for America in a way that no president has ever had the courage to do before."
"Bridget Brink knew what she needed to do to stay in Trump's good graces," Cook said. "The Oval Office meeting was not a red line for her."
Critical point
Tensions spiked in early April, when Brink commented on a deadly Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih that killed 20 people, including nine children. Unlike other ambassadors, she did not mention or blame Russia.
"Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih," she posted on X on April 4. "This is why the war must end."
Zelensky took issue with Brink's comment.
"Unfortunately, the response from the U.S. embassy is surprisingly disappointing — such a strong country, such strong people, and yet such a weak reaction. They are afraid to even say the word 'Russian' when speaking about the missile that murdered children," Zelensky said in a video address the following day. "We must pressure Russia — the one choosing to kill children instead of choosing a ceasefire."
Analyzing Brink's public messages, the Financial Times concluded that as of early April, in the 75 days following Trump's inauguration, Brink mentioned Russia only five times, never attributing blame to Russia for its attacks on Ukraine.
Zelensky's reaction didn’t go unnoticed at the U.S. embassy. In all the public messages about the attacks on Ukrainian civilians that followed, Brink named Russia.
On April 13, Brink reacted to a Russian attack on Sumy that killed 35 people and injured 117.
"Today, Palm Sunday, Russia launched ballistic missiles on Sumy — killing 32 Ukrainian civilians and injuring 99," she wrote. The final toll came in later. "Reports indicate, as in Kryvyi Rih, cluster munitions were used, increasing the devastation and harm to civilians. Our prayers are with the people of Sumy."
She also retweeted U.S. Envoy Keith Kellogg's post that the Sumy attack "crosses any line of decency" and Rubio's statement calling the Russian attack "horrifying."
'Policy disagreements' and resignation
Despite Brink's efforts to align her rhetoric with the Trump administration, she eventually resigned.
According to one of Western diplomats who spoke with the Kyiv Independent on conditions of anonymity, Brink’s resignation wasn't connected to Zelensky’s comments calling her out for a weak reaction.
The diplomat said that the ambassador's relationship with the President's Office "wasn't great" long before Trump took office due to Brink's support for reforms in Ukraine. Still, according to the diplomat, it was the "disagreements" with Washington that led to Brink resigning.
A source in one of the G7 embassies in Kyiv, familiar with the situation, confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that "policy disagreements with Washington" is what was communicated to G7 embassies as the reason for Brink’s resignation.
"Given that it appears that the Trump administration does not share that same goal for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian-American relationship, I certainly can see why she would have issues remaining in her position," Cook said.
Embassy officer resigns to protest policy shift
Cook himself couldn't accept the sudden U.S. foreign policy reversal under Trump.
Cook wrote in his resignation letter that after Trump was elected, he was at first "hopeful President Trump's promotion of 'peace through strength' and Secretary Rubio's call for a foreign policy grounded in making America 'safer, stronger, and more prosperous' could lead to a just resolution to Russia's war against Ukraine.” But this hope soon vaned.
Cook told the Kyiv Independent that he "started to see a negative trajectory in early February, when President Trump called President (Vladimir) Putin and effectively established Ukraine and Russia as having, in his view, equal responsibilities."
He also referred to "the choice for the United States to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian officials present."
Cook said he had ended his service and left Kyiv on Feb. 28 — "the same day as President Trump and Vice President Vance's shameful display of arrogance against President Zelensky in the Oval Office."
His resignation letter goes on to say that "sending an unmistakable message to (China) that 'might makes right' rather than standing up against Russia's war crimes will not make us stronger" and that "forcing Ukraine into a predatory deal on critical minerals will not make America more prosperous."
The version of the mineral resource deal proposed by the U.S. in March would grant Washington unprecedented control over Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund and hamper Kyiv's ability to join the EU. The U.S. has softened its position since then.
"There were a lot of conversations that I had with colleagues — particularly once they knew that I was resigning, where many of them expressed disagreement with the (U.S.) policy on a personal level," Cook said.
As far as he knows, however, no one else has stepped down.
