The Hill’s Changemakers: Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian ambassador

Working in Washington is an inspiration for Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who has had to lean into her role as a wartime diplomat, asserting herself at the highest levels of the Biden administration in pushing for ongoing military and economic assistance critical to her country’s survival.  

“Not long after [I arrived], Russia started amassing the troops around our border. … So that issue of a looming invasion was there from the very beginning,” she said. 

Even as every day is urgent, Markarova said she and the embassy team have found a semblance of balance in their wartime duties in America’s capital. 

“In Washington, D.C., it’s very easy, you fall in love with this place. … It feels like a very vibrant city where you feel that this is where the global decisions are made,” Markarova said in an interview with The Hill this fall. 

“If you were to find one word, to describe Ukraine, to pick from any words, I would pick ‘freedom,’ this desire to be free and readiness to fight for it. And that makes us very similar to Americans.” 

The camaraderie among the increasing number of women ambassadors in the city has also served as a network of support, she said, calling it a “gamechanger.”  

Like Markarova, many of these ambassadors are the first women to hold the U.S. ambassador position for their country.  

When asked if she’s noticed a change in her personality working in Washington in such a time of high stress, Markarova, instead, said she’s been forced to step out of her comfort zone.  

“Call when you need to call and talk to people … and not be shy about reaching out to whoever you need to reach out,” she said. 

“Because the life of your country, and your countrymen and your family, depends on it.”