Zelenskiy says defense minister Umerov to be appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to U.S.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will become the country’s new ambassador to the United States.

Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Zelenskiy said: “There will be a change of ambassador in the U.S. Once the decision is made, which will happen soon, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will represent our country as the main envoy in Washington.”

He confirmed that Ukraine’s current ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, has been recalled.

Ukraine previously announced it would replace ambassadors in 20 countries, including the U.S. Zelenskiy earlier appointed former top general Valeriy Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.