Some diplomats and pundits speculated that the White House had little appetite for a Senate hearing that could culminate in a debate over Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany that members of both parties have criticized Mr Biden for failing to comply with. resisted more. powerful. Republicans could also use a hearing to flesh out the past business activities in Ukraine of Mr Biden’s son Hunter, although a Republican Senate official said he was not aware of any plans to do so.
It is also unclear why Ukraine may not have immediately agreed with Ms Brink, a foreign affairs officer who has been seconded to two other former Soviet republics, Uzbekistan and Georgia, for more than 20 years.
Mr. Zelensky’s office has consolidated much of its foreign policy activities with its chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who speaks regularly with Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, on what has become the center of gravity of the US-U.S. relationship. Ukraine. It is possible that the Ukrainians prefer to keep it that way.
Ukrainian officials in recent years have also viewed US ambassadors as condescending insults who constantly make statements and hold meetings to reprimand Ukrainian elites over insider trading and failing good governance.
And then there’s the memory of the Trump years and the resignation of Ms. Yovanovitch. During the events leading up to his impeachment, in hopes of harming Mr Biden before the 2020 election, Mr. Trump used US military aid to pressure Mr. Zelensky to stop Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy company. to investigate, according to testimony during the impeachment hearings.
In April 2019, Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, persuaded the president to remove Ms. Yovanovitch from office after she opposed Mr. Giuliani’s attempts there to dig dirt on Hunter Biden. (No evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden or his father was found. Mr. Trump denied doing anything improper and was acquitted in his Senate trial.)
Recalling that the position could become entangled in Ukraine’s controversial domestic politics, some Ukrainian officials encouraged Mr Giuliani’s opposition to Ms Yovanovitch because her focus on anti-corruption initiatives threatened their interests. The country’s then top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, referred to Ms Yovanovitch in a text message to an employee as an “idiot,” according to evidence released during the impeachment proceedings.
