Bill Taylor formally leaves Ukraine ambassadorship

William Taylor, who led the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and was a key impeachment witness, has officially been replaced.

The embassy said in a Thursday tweet that Kristina Kvien, who was previously the deputy chief of mission, has taken over Taylor’s role as the mission’s interim head. 

Kristina Kvien, our Deputy Chief of Mission, is now serving as the Charge d’Affaires, a.i. of U.S. Embassy Kyiv. Hear her thoughts on the strong #USUkrainePartnership!https://t.co/SpchstteFs

— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) January 2, 2020

A source told The Hill last month that Taylor would leave his position on Jan. 1 and that Kvien would replace him. 

A source familiar with the situation told The Hill on Thursday that a senior State Department official asked Taylor to give up command of the embassy Jan. 1. 

For the time being, Taylor remains a State Department employee, but has returned to Washington, the source said. 

Taylor was a key witness during the impeachment inquiry into President Trump last year. He testified that a White House meeting and military aid to Ukraine were conditioned on investigations of a company that employed former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.

Taylor also described foreign policy efforts led by Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani.

The House voted in December to impeach Trump and accused him of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine as well as obstruction of Congress during the impeachment probe. Whether he is removed from office will be decided by a Senate trial.

Trump has denied wrongdoing.  

Kvien said in the video posted to Twitter that U.S. support for Ukraine would remain “steady” under her leadership.

“Our embassy team will continue to partner closely with the Ukrainian government and civil society in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.