Ukrainian ambassador notes improved relationship with the US as dynamics shift

Ukrainian Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna took note of what she said was an improved relationship between Ukraine and the U.S., telling reporters Thursday that the “overall dynamics” have shifted. 

In just the past six weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had two phone calls and three meetings with President Trump, including one earlier this week. Stefanishyna, who spoke at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, credited recent personnel shuffles at the State Department and White House, saying they have “helped the process.” 

Ukraine now provides “regular updates” about its military situation and has been able to combat what she characterized as a prior, erroneous narrative that Russia was winning the war, now in its fifth year. 

“Ukraine should be this success case for President Trump,” Stefanishyna said, noting the dramatic turnaround in relations since the contentious Oval Office meeting with Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February 2025. She said Kyiv has also begun building a case that Ukraine is a contributor to European security.

It has shifted its approach from seeking military, “political and moral support” from the U.S. to producing concrete “deliverables” for the Trump administration, including on defense industrial cooperation and Patriot missile system production, she said. Asked about the possibility of visits to Kyiv by envoys Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner, she confirmed it had been raised in this week’s Oval Office meeting, though she declined to provide a date. “It might happen next week, it might happen later,” she said, also indicating both planned to travel to Moscow after Ukraine. 

She said Ukraine was putting much stock in reinvigorating diplomacy in order to reach a ceasefire before, as she put it, “the deadliest winter.” 

On air defenses, Stefanishyna noted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s presence at the Oval Office meeting and said while there had been no “firm commitments” for additional air defenses before winter, discussions are underway on long-term procurement deals and potential missile swaps with countries that already have contracts in place.

On Iran, Stefanishyna insisted Ukraine is not trying to connect the Mideast conflict with its war.

“There’s no policy line or any intention to make these processes interconnected,” she said, adding that a recent Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea was “unintentional” and quickly followed by diplomatic outreach because Kyiv was “not willing to escalate the situation.”

Stefanishyna also pointed to the Russian ballistic missile that reached Poland this week as evidence that the threat from Moscow extends beyond Ukraine. “We did our best to destroy this missile … but we were not successful,” she said.

Ukraine’s long-range attacks into Russia have been a “game-changer,” she said. 

“Russians saw the missiles in places Russia [has] never seen any missiles, like for centuries,” she said. “So this has a major effect to the people because they understand that the war is something that now really relates to them.”

Stefanishyna is hopeful that Congress will enact the bill Sen. Lindsey Graham was working on when he died this month, a measure that would impose new tariffs on those who buy oil from Russia and more sanctions. She predicted that if the Graham bill were signed into law within the next two to three months, it would have “a devastating effect” on Russia and disincentivize its enablers.

Plans to produce Patriot interceptors in Ukraine are progressing, she said, with current estimates ranging from “12 months to five years” — though Ukraine believes it can accelerate that timeline. Raytheon teams have already visited Ukraine, Lockheed Martin is seeking approvals to send technical personnel, and the White House requested a roadmap for establishing the capability after Zelenskyy and Mr. Trump met in Ankara a few weeks ago, she said.

The ambassador also embraced the attention generated by conservative activist Laura Loomer’s recent trip to Ukraine, calling it “impactful” and saying she hopes it prompts more conservative influencers to visit the country. She declined to comment on any involvement by the embassy in organizing the trip and did not offer any insight into how it came about or was financed.

In a lighter moment, she said Loomer’s stop at McDonald’s in Kyiv “was my recommendation” and said Zelenskyy had “fun” during their interview. 

Stefanishyna told reporters she chose to step down amid domestic political pressures and an ongoing asset-declaration investigation, though she added that Zelenskyy did not ask her to resign and wanted her to remain because negotiations over Patriot production and military support are at a critical stage.