U.S. embassy hoping to formally resume operations in Kyiv soon - U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine

KYIV. May 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) - U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine Kristina Kvien has said she is hoping for the soonest formal resumption of embassy operations in Kyiv and its broader presence.

Kvien told reporters in Kyiv on Sunday they had a small team in Ukraine for now but were hoping to enlarge it as time passed. Formally, the embassy is not open yet, and no flag has been hoisted, so this is actually the first trip back to Kyiv, she said. According to Kvien, the embassy is hoping to officially reopen in the near future and to broaden its presence as much as security levels would allow. She also said they were monitoring the situation every day and, as soon as the assessment was made and it was possible to bring in more people, that would be done.

Kvien underlined the importance of personal contacts in Kyiv.

Although embassy employees left either for Washington or for Poland, they have never stopped working, Kvien said. She said the embassy stopped working in Kyiv but they did not. She said they are now coming back, and the work is continuing. She said it was great to be in Kyiv because she believed they would be able to do much more in person, especially from the angle of contacts with people and understanding of the situation. She also said they could do that much better on the ground and in person.

According to Kvien, nominee for U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink could come to Ukraine soon after the Senate confirms her nomination.

She said she did not know when the Senate might have the final vote but if the nomination was confirmed she was hoping that Brink would be able to arrive shortly, perhaps next month or so.

Kvien also said she had no information whether U.S. President Joe Biden might visit Ukraine.

She said she was confident that the U.S. president would visit Ukraine at some point but could not say anything about any particular dates or discussions just yet.