Kristina Kvien, the deputy chief of the US diplomatic mission in Ukraine, has been appointed the new charge d'affaires, the US embassy said on Thursday
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd January, 2020) Kristina Kvien, the deputy chief of the US diplomatic mission in Ukraine, has been appointed the new charge d'affaires, the US embassy said on Thursday.
"Kristina Kvien, our Deputy Chief of Mission, is now serving as the Charge d'Affaires, a.i. of U.S. Embassy Kyiv," the diplomatic mission wrote on Twitter.
The position was previously held by William Taylor, who replaced Marie Yovanovitch as the top US diplomat in Ukraine last June. Both officials have been at the center of the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump.
Yovanovitch was recalled in May. The diplomat's removal followed claims by former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko that Yovanovitch had given him a list of persons who she said should avoid prosecution. Yovanovitch has been criticized by Trump, while the diplomat and her supporters said her removal was a result of a smear campaign against her.
In December, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed that Yovanovitch had been an obstacle for him to ensure that "investigations difficult for everybody" were held in Ukraine.
House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry in September after a whistleblower complaint revealed Trump may have abused his power. The complaint alleged that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a July 25 phone call to investigate possible corruption of former Vice President Joe Biden � Trump's rival in the 2020 presidential election � and his son Hunter Biden in Ukraine.
Trump right away released the transcript of the telephone call and said there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with Ukraine. Trump characterized the impeachment inquiry as yet another political witch hunt by the Democrats aimed at reversing the result of the 2016 presidential election.
