Senate confirms new ambassador to Russia ahead of Zelensky address

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as the new U.S. ambassador to Russia, backing her nomination on the same day Ukraine’s president is making a historic visit to Washington that serves to underscore support for Kyiv amid Russia’s invasion.

Tracy will take over the diplomatic post at a period of rock-bottom relations between the U.S. and Russia, with contacts between Moscow and Washington constricted to the highest levels of government and on only the most sensitive issues.

The Senate confirmed Tracy in a vote of 93-2, with Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) both voting “no.”

Tracy, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Armenia, will be tasked with “standing up to” Russian President Vladimir Putin, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

Schumer said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “could not arrive at a more crucial moment for the Senate” and urged the chamber to also pass another $45 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine as part of Congress’s massive year-end funding bill for fiscal 2023.

“We should complete our work on both the omnibus, with Ukrainian aid, and the confirmation of our new ambassador to Russia,” Schumer said.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in remarks on the Senate floor that even as Putin prosecutes a “brutal war” in Ukraine, the U.S. needs an envoy in Moscow to represent American interests and who will serve as another avenue to support Ukraine.

“Ambassador Tracy will not shy away from confronting Putin’s abuses,” Menendez said. “America needs her in her post, Europe needs her in her post, Ukraine needs her in her post.”

Tracy’s arrival in Moscow comes after the previous ambassador, John Sullivan, left the post in September shortly before the death of his wife. 

The role of ambassador in Moscow is viewed as a key communication link with the Kremlin in efforts to advance U.S. interests, which include restarting talks on nuclear nonproliferation — the most recent talks being “postponed” by Russian over U.S. support for Ukraine.

Tracy will also be tasked with trying to secure the release of Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Moscow since 2018 and convicted on espionage charges. The Biden administration has criticized his detention as unjust, supporting Whelan’s assertions, and those of his family, that the spying charges are trumped up. 

The Biden administration said the Russians refused to release Whelan as part of a prisoner exchange that saw the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Tracy said during her confirmation hearing that she will work for Whelan’s release, and the release of other Americans that the administration feels are being unfairly treated.

Tracy advocated for Congress to keep pressure on Russia through sanctions as a way to pressure Moscow to cease its aggression in Ukraine.

The ambassador also said she would advocate on behalf of Russian political prisoners, including Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, Radio Free Europe reporter Vladyslav Yesypenko and opposition politician and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Her remarks drew pushback last month from Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who questioned whether Tracy was right for the role of ambassador.  

“Does she definitely want to come to us? Not some hawkish research center?” Zakharova reportedly asked, adding Tracy needed to demonstrate readiness to work constructively in order to avoid “irreparable damage in relations with our country.”   

Tracy earlier served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow between 2014 and 2017, arriving in the mission as the world was grappling with Russia’s invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, and fomenting a pro-Russian separatist movement in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. 

During her confirmation hearing, she spoke about her expectation of arriving in a hostile capital, having earlier experienced “regular harassment.”

Menendez, on the Senate floor, said Tracy “has the courage to carry out her duties in the face of a hostile government and represent America beyond the Kremlin walls and she has the experience to lead the mission in one of the most challenging and difficult places our diplomats work today.”