AP

Senate confirms Brink as new US ambassador to Ukraine

May 18, 2022, 7:04 AM | Updated: May 19, 2022, 6:20 am

FILE - Bridget Brink talks before she testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirm...

FILE - Bridget Brink talks before she testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, May 10, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate confirmed Brink on May 18 as Ambassador to Ukraine, filling the post as U.S. officials plan to return American diplomats to Kyiv as the country battles the Russian invasion. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Bridget Brink late Wednesday as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, filling the post as officials plan to return American diplomats to Kyiv during the nation’s continuing battle against the Russian invasion.

The veteran foreign service officer, who has spent most of her career in the shadow of the former Soviet Union, was nominated to the position last month by President Joe Biden. She was confirmed unanimously by the Senate without a formal roll call vote.

American diplomats evacuated Kyiv when the war began three months ago, but the U.S. reopened the embassy Wednesday.

The ambassador’s post has been vacant since former President Donald Trump abruptly forced out Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in 2019. She later became a key figure in the first impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Brink had been the ambassador to Slovakia.

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Senate confirms Brink as new US ambassador to Ukraine