Victoria J. Nuland, the third-ranking official at the State Department, arch neoconservative and architect of Washington’s Ukraine strategy against Russia, has now decided to suddenly retire this month following over three decades of employment with the federal government.
Biden Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken revealed Ms. Nuland’s resignation from the position of under secretary for political affairs on Tuesday.
He highlighted what he believed to be her strong dedication to ‘freedom, democracy, human rights.’
Ms. Nuland has occupied various roles within the State Department, such as spokeswoman, and previously acted as deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.
She established herself as an expert on Russia, consistently advocating for robust intervention against the country headed by Vladimir Putin.
During her time as the top Russia official in the Obama administration, she advocated for arming Ukraine with a plethora of weapons, a position she continues to support in the Biden administration by pushing for more and improved U.S. weapons to be sent to Ukraine whenever possible regardless of the financial or political cost.
With her bellicose style and direct approach, she was a skilled bureaucratic operator who commanded a mix of admiration and fear from colleagues.
In 2014, she gained a level of increased infamy when she used strong language to describe the European Union during a leaked phone call discussing internal Ukrainian politics, which she was proceeding to meddle in at the time.
An action which contributed significantly to the 2014 Ukrainian Maidan revolution and the current Russo-Ukrainian war.
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