Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said that US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine in March 2025 jeopardized the safety of civilian employees of the US Embassy in Kyiv. According to her, the personnel were protected by Ukrainian air defense using American equipment.
Brink said this in a comment to a Reuters article.
Brink was the U.S. ambassador to Kyiv when Trump returned to the White House. In March 2025, days after Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at the White House, the U.S. cut off military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Among the weapons cut off were munitions for air defense systems that protected not only Ukrainians but also U.S. embassy personnel from Russian drones and missiles.
“I had a thousand people, all civilians, on site. And we were protected by Ukrainians who used American and other equipment,” Brink said.
According to her, the termination of military aid occurred without warning.
“When we tried to find out why she was stopped, we didn't get any answers,” she added.
Brink reached out to the Pentagon, the State Department, and the White House because she was concerned about what this would mean for both the Ukrainians and the security of Americans themselves. Brink said her staff tried behind the scenes to convince the Trump administration to restore the aid, and on March 11, 2025, the White House agreed. However, she never received an official explanation for why the aid was stopped in the first place.
Under previous US President Joe Biden, Brink regularly attended meetings of the US National Security Council, which traditionally coordinates the White House's foreign and defence policy, to develop and coordinate wartime policy between Washington and the embassy in Kyiv. Under Trump, such meetings have stopped. Instead, she was told to “just call people” – an approach she described as ineffective in a conflict zone where Russian attacks were commonplace.
“We are seven hours ahead (this is the time difference between Ukraine and the United States – ed.) and we are in a bunker almost every night,” Brink said.
The final straw, she said, was Trump's policy of “appeasement” toward Ukraine—seeking closer ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin while accusing Ukraine of Russian aggression. In April 2025, Brink resigned in protest. Two months later, she announced that she would run for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.
Her successor, Julie Davis, who served as chargé d'affaires ai, will also leave her post and retire in June, the State Department announced on April 28, 2026. Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Davis is retiring after “30 distinguished years of service” in the diplomatic corps.
The Pentagon did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.