Zelensky appoints former European integration minister Kachka as EU ambassador

President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s former deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as the country’s representative to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, according to a decree published on Oct. 9.

Kachka served as deputy prime minister from July 17, 2025, to July 14, 2026. His move to Brussels was announced during a July government reshuffle, when Zelensky said Kachka would swap roles with Ukraine’s then-ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov.

During Kachka’s tenure overseeing EU integration, Ukraine opened its first two accession negotiation clusters — groups of policy areas in which candidates must meet EU requirements. These covered fundamental reforms, including the rule of law, and external relations.

In December 2025, Kachka and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos co-signed a letter identifying the 10 most pressing rule-of-law reforms Ukraine should complete by the end of 2026.

He also worked with the European Commission to agree on the timing and content of reforms tied to installments of the EU’s 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine, finalized in April.

Speaking at the Bruegel think tank’s annual conference in Brussels on Sept. 2, Kachka sought to reassure European partners that Ukraine would maintain its reform efforts despite the war.

“The voices and questions of member states and different stakeholders are not ‘blah, blah, blah,’” he said when asked by the Kyiv Independent how he would reassure Brussels. “The scale of this mutual undertaking on deterring Russia is so huge that it requires enormous trust between all of us.”

“Rule of law, anti-corruption, is really the cornerstone of this trust,” he added.

His appointment comes amid parliamentary delays in passing EU-backed legislation, which have put installments worth 2.1 billion euros and 3.7 billion euros at risk.

Zelensky has called on the EU to bring forward some loan installments scheduled for 2027. Kachka said the request reflected unfulfilled promises of additional financing from other allies.

He praised the EU’s decision to borrow jointly to support Ukraine’s wartime needs, calling it “a really revolutionary thing,” and said he remained optimistic that partners including the U.K., Canada, and Japan would provide further support.