One of Zelensky’s key candidates refuses US ambassador post

Pavel Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who was considered one of the leading candidates for the position of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, has refused the post, TodayPress TV reports, citing Ukrinform.

“According to the legislation, I cannot serve in both the military and diplomatic services at the same time. At the same time, leaving military service contradicts my moral and life principles. During wartime, I have to be here, in my own country. Therefore, the only format in which I could go to the United States would be for education,” Palisa said.

On August 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Olha Stefanishyna as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. The Financial Times reported that Stefanishyna’s departure was linked to a case concerning her relatives’ purchase of expensive real estate in Kyiv.

Later, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office charged Stefanishyna.

In August, reports emerged that Palisa could become Ukraine’s new ambassador to the United States.