Financial Times journalist Amy Mackinnon reported today that Julie Davis, the acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, leaving the State Department. According to Mackinnon, Davis grew “frustrated with Trump’s dwindling support for Ukraine.”
Davis’s predecessor, Bridget Brink, resigned for similar reasons last year.
Brink responded to Davis’s resignation on social media by writing: “I resigned as U.S. Ambassador Ukraine when Trump kept siding with Putin over our democratic partner. Now, my successor is doing the same. I knew I had to speak out and run for office because siding with dictators is just not who we are.”
[NOTE: The Trump administration has reportedly been considering inviting Putin to the G20 Conference in December, which is scheduled to be held near Miami at Trump National Doral. Russia is a G20 member but has not participated fully in a G20 conference since 2019, when COVID-19 hindered participation, and did not return after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine which led the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes.]
I resigned as U.S. Ambassador Ukraine when Trump kept siding with Putin over our democratic partner. Now, my successor is doing the same.
I knew I had to speak out and run for office because siding with dictators is just not who we are. https://t.co/j1cGvub4Bf
— Bridget Brink (@AmbBridgetBrink) April 29, 2026
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott denied the reported reasons for Davis’s departure and said: “It is false to suggest Ambassador Davis is resigning ‘over differences with Donald Trump.’”
Pigott added: “She is retiring after a distinguished 30-year tenure as a career foreign service officer. She will continue to proudly advance President Trump’s policies until she officially departs Kyiv in June 2026 and retires from the Department.”
Trump critics on X are responding with videos of the President during his 2024 campaign when he repeatedly promised that, if re-elected, he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. The montage below features Trump making the claim at eight different events.
Trump, 2024: “Mark my words, I will end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. It might not even take that long.” pic.twitter.com/N3YctG6Iag
— TJ Adams-Falconer (@tommyjusa) April 28, 2026
[NOTE: Former Ambassador Brink (who also served as U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia) is running as a Democrat for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. She hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Barrett, who is running unopposed in the GOP primary, having secured President Trump’s endorsement.]
April 21, 2025 was my last day as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
I was the first female Ambassador to serve in a war zone and I am proud of our work to fight back against Russia’s aggression and protect democracy.
But when Trump kept appeasing Putin, I had to resign and speak out. pic.twitter.com/p3VncU8ST7
— Bridget Brink (@AmbBridgetBrink) April 21, 2026