Sandra Oudkirk, who brings more than 30 years of diplomatic service experience, has become the new United States Chargé d'Affaires ad interim in Ukraine.
This was reported on the website of the United States Embassy in Ukraine.
Sandra Oudkirk is a career diplomat and member of the United States Senior Foreign Service. For over 30 years, she has represented the interests of the United States around the world, holding positions with increasing levels of authority and responsibility.
Since 2024, she worked at the United States Department of Defense, initially serving as deputy director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and later becoming civilian deputy and foreign policy adviser at the United States European Command. From 2021 to 2024, Sandra Oudkirk headed the American Institute in Taiwan.
While working in Washington, Oudkirk held positions in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Bureau of Energy Resources, and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Her work covered strategic competition among major powers, energy security, counter-threat finance, and the imposition of economic sanctions. She also previously served as a senior watch officer at the United States State Department Operations Center.
Her overseas diplomatic postings included Taipei, Dublin, Ankara, Kingston, Istanbul, and Beijing.
Sandra Oudkirk was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is married to diplomat Scott Oudkirk and has three adult children. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and Turkish.
As reported, since May 2025, Julie Davis served as the United States Chargé d'Affaires in Ukraine.
Davis's predecessor, former the United States Ambassador Bridget Brink, left the post of ambassador in April 2025. She later publicly stated that she decided to step down due to the foreign policy of President Donald Trump's administration.
