Former US ambassador to Ukraine sharply criticised Trump's policy on the war

She said this in an interview with The Atlantic podcast, NV reports.

As you know, Brink started working in Ukraine in the summer of 2022, a few months after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. She resigned in April 2025 after publicly whistling her opposition to new President Donald Trump's policies, which she believes are "victim-bashing." She said she was stunned by the list of "negotiating" terms offered to Ukraine. Brink said that in her final days in Ukraine, she met with a "very high-level" Ukrainian official.

In fact, he showed me what he said was presented to the Ukrainians as a possible way forward to peace talks. "I would say that this document, the details of which I will not specify, contained Putin's 'Wishlist' of everything he wants," Brink said.

According to the diplomat, the Ukrainian interlocutor looked at her and said: "You are our closest strategic partner."

That's all he said. And I had nothing to say, because I myself - as a person who has devoted a significant part of my life to supporting freedom and democracy in Ukraine and the broader European space for the benefit of Americans - I had nothing to say either," Brink said.

Assessing the situation for Ukraine as of mid-June, Brink noted:

"One thing is quite clear: Putin has found out that he can show - or, I would say, pretend to show - a 'willingness' to negotiate, while at the same time continuing to fight on the battlefield and trying to seize more territory and change the facts and conditions on the ground. I think allowing [Putin] to do that is a mistake on our part.

The Ukrainians will not relent and will hold their defences until they are unable to do so.

And so I think that in this situation we are facing a long, continuous war that risks escalating into an even bigger war if there is not more pressure and force on Putin to sit down at the negotiating table," the diplomat said.

Brink sharply criticised the Trump administration's attempts to negotiate with Russian Federation by bringing in non-professionals, answering a question with an allusion to Steve Witkoff, Trump's 68-year-old business partner.

I think it's a mistake not to rely on people who have expertise in this area. I think it's a big mistake, especially with respect to Russia. Putin has a larger strategic plan that is very dangerous to the U.S., and we are ignoring that plan to our own detriment," Brink said.

According to her, there is now "chaos in the policy-making process" in the US power cabinets on a foreign strategy to contain Russia and China. And since Trump's arrival, she as ambassador has not had the opportunity to "inform the president in a way that helps us move our policy forward." At the same time, she is highly critical of current US attempts to take the position of a detached "independent mediator" in Russia's war against Ukraine. In her belief, "Putin doesn't stop until he is stopped."

It is clear to me that he wants to turn Ukraine around, not only from its path to the EU, which is where it all started, but also to NATO, to weaken NATO, to divide Europe, and to weaken the United States," Brink concluded.

She called the Trump administration a "threat to our future."

That's why I resigned [from my ambassadorial post]. That's why I'm speaking out publicly [...]. I think it's bad for America to be where we find ourselves. It's not who we really are. We need to be on the right side of history. History doesn't often have decisive moments. And as someone who has been doing this [diplomacy] for 28 years, I think it's vital that we stand on the right side," Brink said.

As reported, the US unexpectedly suspended military aid to Ukraine last week. After that, Trump held a conversation with Putin and Ukrainian President Vloadymir Zelensky.