Pavlo Palisa could become new ambassador to Washington, report says

Pavlo Palisa, currently serving as the deputy head of Ukraine's President’s Office, may soon be appointed as the country's new ambassador to the United States, according to a report by RBC-Ukraine on August 3. The source for the report stated that Palisa has been considered for this position but did not offer further details. Brigadier General Palisa assumed his current role at the end of November 2024, following a distinguished military career that began in 2002.

Prior to his appointment, Palisa commanded various units, including the 93rd Mechanized Brigade during the defense of Bakhmut, and served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine without interruption. At the outset of Russia's invasion, Palisa withdrew from his studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, which later awarded him a diploma accompanied by enthusiastic applause in June 2022.

On the same day as the report's publication, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed Olha Stefanishyna from her position as ambassador to the United States, citing personal reasons for her resignation. Prior to her departure, Stefanishyna maintained that she had not been requested by the president to resign and expressed her intention to continue in her role.

Earlier reports on July 12 suggested that Stefanishyna had contemplated leaving diplomatic service for personal reasons. Opposition MP Oleksiy Goncharenko also claimed that Stefanishyna might face charges from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in the near future.