Kuleba<\/a> has now emerged as a potential replacement, although it remains unclear whether he is willing to take the job.<\/p>\n Kuleba emerges as leading option<\/p>\n Kuleba served as foreign minister from March 2020 until his resignation in September 2024. As the youngest foreign minister in Ukraine’s history, he became one of the country’s most recognizable faces abroad after Russia launched its full-scale invasion<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n He was particularly visible in Ukraine’s wartime diplomacy<\/a>, making repeated and often forceful appeals for Western governments to provide Kyiv with weapons. That experience is now one of the reasons Ukrainian officials see him as a good fit for Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Ukraine needs someone the U.S. public will like… to go on TV to talk and meet with think tank people,” one person familiar with the matter said.<\/p>\n But there is a major question hanging over the possible appointment: whether Kuleba actually wants the job.<\/p>\n One person familiar with the matter said Kuleba “wanted to stay in Kyiv.” The Kyiv Independent reached out to Kuleba for comment but has yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n If he accepts, the move would return one of Ukraine’s best-known diplomats to the center of its relations with Washington after his departure from the Foreign Ministry<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n Kuleba was removed from his post as then-President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak expanded his influence over foreign policy.<\/p>\n Palisa was under consideration<\/p>\n Kuleba was not the only person being considered.<\/p>\n People familiar with the matter said Zelensky was also considering Deputy President’s Office Head and former commander Pavlo Palisa for the Washington post.<\/p>\n Palisa has become an important figure inside Zelensky’s<\/a> team, particularly in coordinating the President Office’s work with Ukraine’s military leadership.<\/p>\n That role has also brought him recognition in Washington. During the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara in June, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Palisa.<\/p>\n “He’s one of my favorite soldiers,” Trump said<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Article](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787760429_895_image.jpeg\"\/)
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa on May 6, 2025, in Kyiv. (Artem Gvozdkov \/ Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)<\/p>\n