Ukraine's new ambassador to US Olha Stefanishyna: 'I will concentrate all efforts on ending the war’ (INTERVIEW)

Washington, DC – Olha Stefanishyna was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2025 — and has hardly had a moment of rest since. In the few weeks that passed, she moved to the U.S., helped prepare the meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. leaders during the U.S. summit, worked on a bilateral drone deal, and prepared for the Ukrainian delegation’s mid-October visit to the United States, among other things.

Stefanishyna, 39, is no career diplomat. A lawyer by training, she spent most of her career in the Ukrainian government, with only a short stint in the private sector in between government jobs. Within Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, she specialized in European and Euro-Atlantic integration — including the past five years as deputy prime minister. She had two notable stints at the Justice Ministry, the first leaving her with an ongoing corruption case dating back more than a decade (a number of the ministry’s former officials stand accused of overspending on a report, Stefanishyna among them).

Stefanishyna is also no newcomer to the U.S.-Ukraine relations, or to dealing with the current administration — earlier in the year, she was among the Ukrainian officials working on the minerals deal negotiation, and sat next to Volodymyr Zelensky during the infamous Oval Office meeting on Feb. 28. Now back in Washington, she faces the challenge of strengthening Kyiv’s relationship with its most critical ally.

In this role, Stefanishyna succeeds Oksana Markarova, who served for four years from February 2021 — and was another former government executive who moved from a ministerial post into ambassadorship.

The Kyiv Independent spoke with Stefanishyna in her new office in Washington, DC, on Oct. 9.

The interview has undergone minor edits for length and clarity.

The Kyiv Independent: You have just recently started in this exciting new position in a very challenging time for Ukraine. What are your impressions so far — from the job, from the city, from the challenge that is ahead of you?

Olha Stefanishyna: I'm a little less than one month here. And I was onboarded just a week before the meeting of two leaders. I think a couple of issues are really important: There's a great amount of supporters in the U.S. for Ukraine. There is a very active Ukrainian community. A lot of organizations and funds are supporting Ukraine. So I do not feel lonely here.

But on the other hand, I'm not a traditional diplomatic ambassador because I'm not just in any country. The destiny of my country and the lives of Ukrainians literally depend from the decisions taken on this continent and in this capital. And that's why, first and foremost, I have a political mandate to concentrate all of our efforts on ending the war, providing air defense and defense military assistance to Ukraine and making sure that in Ukraine everybody understands the messages from the U.S. administration.

The Kyiv Independent: Speaking of messages, what is the main message that you're bringing to the Trump administration as Ukraine's top representative here?

Olha Stefanishyna: Every message I bring, I bring it from Kyiv. It's always done in coordination and communication with our teams in Kyiv.

I think the key message is, first, changing the angle from helping Ukraine to keep on fighting  to ending the war has already played a serious role because it's changed the logic of actions, at many endeavors.

But at the same time, we have to understand that ending the war is a process, right? And it's composed of many components. Military support, using Russian frozen assets, putting sanctions — these are part of the efforts to end the war. And this does not necessarily require engagement with the aggressor at this point. And around this message, all the other cooperation has been built.

The Kyiv Independent: Many people we talked to praise your predecessor Oksana Markarova as someone who did a great job and set a certain standard for a Ukrainian ambassador here. How are you going to be drawing from the wins of her term here? Is there anything that you're going to be doing differently? What can people who are working with Ukraine in D.C. expect from you as a new ambassador?

Olha Stefanishyna: Well, I don't compare myself to anyone. It was a decision of the president that I will become a new ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, because of the background I have, because of the way I communicate, because of the way I build relations and because of the way my mindset is organized. So these are the skills he and others are considering necessary at this point. I have been a very system-oriented person, so continuity of efforts is vital and diplomatic service is very important at this point.

When I joined the embassy as the ambassador I already had a team of diplomats who have been working here, and I think my presence here opens many more doors to them at this point. And I can see that they are absolutely happy with that.

The Kyiv Independent: Is there anything that surprised you in these first months of meetings, getting introduced to the political scene here in Washington? Is there anything that’s not the way you expected to find it?

Olha Stefanishyna: I think probably the largest takeaway so far is that, in terms of communicating with the American administration, things are not as complicated as it sometimes seems from abroad.

Something that is really important to understand is that once you have a political agreement on something, to make it work you have to spend a ton of hours just speaking about that, communicating, explaining at all levels, and it's never working in a different way because America is the largest and most powerful country on the globe and literally everybody wants to have a meeting, to have an arrangement, so that's why to make it work particularly in your case requires triple efforts.  

And as Ukraine, we do not have to underestimate the very fact that Ukraine as a country, but also ending the war in Ukraine is the top priority for the president of the United States. If it were not so, then it would be a million times harder to even have one meeting per week.

The Kyiv Independent: Do you have any specific measurable results that you have in mind, like the prize that your eyes are on? Is there something you think about that motivates you in the sense of, “When this happens I'm going to know I succeeded as the ambassador”?

Olha Stefanishyna: Again, let's start from the fact that I'm not in a very traditional ambassadorial position and for me it's not just another step in my personal career. I have accomplished a fantastic career by myself. I'm proud of it, because there's literally nobody behind me apart from me, making it. I'm at service. As a Ukrainian who has been in Ukraine since February of 2022, whose family stayed there — if all of my knowledge and all the trust I brought with me from the Ukrainians and from the president here to DC could be of help to end the war, to prevent Ukrainian cities from being attacked, and making sure that we can deprive Russia from the fuel of war, from the weapon of war — I think this would be a huge success.

And I really know that I will do my best. But also I think that as we remain functional throughout the war, it's no less important to open Ukraine as the country and as a market for the United States and, take it or leave it, with this administration it has become possible.

The Kyiv Independent: Speaking of cutting fuel for Russia’s war. Something that everybody is talking about in DC right now is the idea that the U.S. may provide Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. What is your take on that? Is that going to happen for Ukraine? (Editor's Note: The interview took place on Oct. 9).

Olha Stefanishyna: Well, politically speaking, I'm sure it will. Militarily speaking, Tomahawk is the headline. When we're speaking about long-range attack capabilities, there’s a much broader formula behind that.

I think largely this decision has been positively perceived by the president of the United States. We had a delegation from our Defense Ministry and Security and Defense Council working here. I follow up all the time on this, so I'm sure this is the reality and I think we really need to make sure that this decision happens as soon as possible.

The Kyiv Independent: Do you think it's going to make a difference?

Olha Stefanishyna: Absolutely. I can give you a simple example: Just after the UN General Assembly, a couple of nights after that, Russians had a plan to launch more than 100 missiles over the territory of Ukraine, but because our special operations forces conducted their successful operations 12 hours before, there were half less missiles. So the math is very simple — having this capability on a larger scale allows us to sleep at night and deprive the aggressor from incentive to even plan the missile attacks.

The Kyiv Independent: Something that I’ve been asked in my meetings here is whether Ukrainians understand that the war will need to end in a negotiated deal — and it’s effectively being asked whether Ukrainians will accept concessions. How do you lead these conversations about concessions and accepting an unfavorable deal? Do you have to explain that it's about people, and it’s about strategic defense of Europe, not about just the land on the map?

Olha Stefanishyna: Public speaking and speaking to a broader audience is important and my messages are just the same for any kind of audience. I'm trying to have formal meetings with those people in the White House, in the State Department and in other American institutions, who really are capable and have a mandate to make a difference and a decision. The same applies to the Senate and Congress. If I hear anything like that, I really do my best to invest in the conversation and explanation.

I think it's very important to understand first and foremost Russia, how they operate so as not to be played by Russia, because they really work here — actively. And secondly, I provide accurate data — as we were speaking about the actual situation in the military in a military briefing and we were speaking about the actual situation in the Russian economy. And when we're getting deeper into these elements, things do not look so black and white.

The Kyiv Independent: So is your impression that, basically, a lot of people in DC are getting much more favorable information about Russia's position in the battlefield than it really is? That they're told that Russia is winning and it's unbeatable?

Olha Stefanishyna: This was the thing here a couple of weeks ago. And we invested a lot of effort to communicate largely and provide accurate data. And my president has spent quite a time with the president of the United States informing him of the real situation on the battlefield, and our teams are having briefings here.

It's really important that we properly communicate that we really provide all the stakeholders with the relevant information, with the relevant data, be it on economy, be it on military, be it on needs, be it on the situation in Ukraine and other endeavors.

Advocacy is something that should not be underestimated. Because in Washington, advocacy is the main weapon. You can be 10 times more brilliant than the others, but if you do not invest in communication, explanation and advocacy, you will not get anywhere.

The Kyiv Independent: You are of course not new to the U.S. scene, because you worked on the minerals deal, and you were in the Oval Office during the memorable meeting back in February.

So just seeing how that meeting went in the beginning of the year and seeing this last meeting in New York that you helped prepare, after which President Trump walked out and made his, by far, most pro-Ukrainian statement yet — how did we get from there to here? Did Ukraine learn something about how to communicate with this administration? How did this change happen?

Olha Stefanishyna: It’s been more than six months — and it’s been such a dynamic period. I think things were really happening very fast back in February.

Both President Trump and President Zelensky are the most respected leaders globally and they are very committed to what they say, to what they promise. But the difference is that my president is the president of the country at war. It's something that really requires so much understanding because, you know, I'm sitting here in a suit and you're sitting here looking nice but both of us know that when we're coming back to Kyiv, we're sleeping in a parking lot and we accept the very fact that we can die every day and this is not a common knowledge that everybody has around the world and it requires time to build this knowledge and understanding and relations.

And I think there's been so much information around the new U.S. administration about Ukraine ending the war, Russians were presenting themselves as these romantic, nice guys, right? There was a lot of fake information about Ukraine, military situation, and Ukrainian leadership. But we have never stepped back. I think on both sides there were investments in making these relations work and the last meeting was a meeting where trust, first and foremost, was the baseline of the whole meeting.

It was a conversation between two people who were willing to hear each other, were willing to brainstorm, were willing to exchange, and I think it was on both sides.

The Kyiv Independent: That's great, but where did the trust come from? It's great that they had this in the last conversation but how did Ukraine work towards establishing that trust? How do you win the trust of the president of the United States?

Olha Stefanishyna: There were a number of very successful elements. First, there was the mineral deal, which has become a success for both sides. Because it could have been a success for the U.S., but not a big success for Ukraine.

Secondly, I think there was a huge difference between the meeting in Alaska and the meeting which took place in the White House with President Zelensky and with the (European) leaders. The level of support President Trump gained and the level of details which were discussed has really changed the logic.

But also, we spent a lot of time preparing this meeting. On both sides.

The Kyiv Independent: What is your interpretation of the change in Trump’s rhetoric after that meeting? Everybody is trying to interpret the statement that Trump made after the meeting. Some read it as like he's washing his hands of the war and he's saying, yes, Ukraine can win, good luck with that, Europe needs to step in. There are also those who say that it doesn't mean much because we need to see the action. What is your take on it?  

Olha Stefanishyna: Well, all positive signals are positive. So we should read it like that.

Successfully ending the war is not possible without European commitment and contribution. And it could be a financial contribution — and the U.S. has made its commitment on military contribution if there is a proper financing mobilized. So it's not a one day or one person effort, it's a joint effort and evolving from the discussion which has been taking place between the presidents, we read this public communication as something saying that, if everybody does their part, there is a big chance for success. And that the US will not do more than it has to do, when there is something that still could be done by Europeans.

The Kyiv Independent: When can we expect Ukraine and the U.S. to sign the drone deal? Is it something in progress and what's the stage there?

Olha Stefanishyna: I think the principal political arrangement has been formed over this last meeting between the presidents. Then we had a technical delegation which had been working here a week after the meeting. We have planned a number of next steps which are needed to structure this arrangement. They are planned. And I think it's a good signal. I'm not in a position to give any forecast.

The Kyiv Independent: Can you say what timeline we're looking at?

Olha Stefanishyna: Well, I can say something that is really important: This arrangement is definitely happening.

The Kyiv Independent: Is it a matter of weeks, months, or years?

Olha Stefanishyna: As we have just relaunched our active engagement with the Pentagon, I think it's not a good thing to speculate on the timeline.

The Kyiv Independent: Do you think that these latest incursions of Russian drones in Europe is something that might stimulate the U.S. and other countries to want Ukrainian drones, to want Ukraine's expertise? Because Ukraine is one of two countries in the world now that knows how to fight in a drone war, and the second one is Russia.

Olha Stefanishyna: Two very important things happened after that. First, we saw the Polish defense minister who's been one of the skeptical people coming to Ukraine and arranging cooperation with the defense minister of Ukraine.

Secondly, the European Union has pitched the idea on the drone wall. And I think it has become obvious that, speaking about the great Ukrainian drones, something that is really very relevant to every European capital, because it was not only Poland or Romania, it was Baltic countries, these were Nordic countries. And if Ukraine is not able to stop this, these provocations could continue — and it's only Ukraine, in fact, who can and knows how to do it. The attack of 20 drones has become a major discussion around all NATO, but Ukraine can handle hundreds of drones per night. So it's really being a gamechanger in terms of mindset.

The Kyiv Independent: What type of aid, what type of weapons can Ukraine expect from the U.S. in the near future?

Olha Stefanishyna: Well, I would not go into titles.

The Kyiv Independent: Is there anything that can surprise us there?

Olha Stefanishyna: Absolutely.

The Kyiv Independent: Okay. Is there something that can surprise us sooner rather than later?

Olha Stefanishyna: Yes, it's going to be something that will positively surprise us rather soon.

The Kyiv Independent: And lastly, the majority of our audience is people who are Ukraine followers and many of them are citizens of this country who want to help Ukraine. And the question we constantly get is “How can I help Ukraine?”

So as the new Ukraine ambassador in the U.S. what is your message to Americans who are asking how they can help Ukraine?

Olha Stefanishyna: You know, yesterday I received a handwritten letter with a check for $25 asking me to forward it to support Ukraine. Of course we forwarded it to United 24.

The Kyiv Independent: Who was it from?

Olha Stefanishyna: From an American. (Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent was shown the letter after the interview.) It's just an American living her life from Monday to Sunday. But somewhere in the middle of this week this person stopped to think about Ukraine. To take the time to write a letter. To say the words which are important for this person and to write out a check for $25. I think it's priceless. It's  absolutely priceless. If everyone would just be able to stop for a minute and think what can I do, definitely everyone would find something that could be done to save one life.

And if I were a Ukrainian who would just receive this check it would be such an increase of morale. I would be able to do anything — just knowing that on the other part of the world there's somebody who's thinking of me. So if there's something I can name, it's this kind of thing, which is really important to me, to us, I think.