Former Ambassador Yovanovitch talks about Ukraine war, impeachment

May 19—Marie Yovanovitch said she had no idea what she was doing when she wrote her memoir, but the number of people who turned out to see her in Santa Fe reflected how compelling they found her story.

Yovanovitch, 63, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, discussed her book, Letters from the Edge, at a forum Wednesday hosted by Global Santa Fe, an organization previously known as the Santa Fe Council for International Relations.

She shared her thoughts about the war Russia is waging in Ukraine, a country where she spent three years as an envoy before former President Donald Trump removed her.

And she had some scathing comments about Trump acting on what she said were false allegations from his then-personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and some muddy political motives in firing her.

"The most disturbing thing about this was this was the president of the United States ... using his public office — the highest office in the land — for his own personal political gain," Yovanovitch said. "I never expected to see that in the United States."

Yovanovitch said it was harmful to U.S. foreign policy because autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin were watching.

"It was a low point, even for the Trump presidency," she said.

Yovanovitch said she always made a point of being neutral and serving any president in office, regardless of political party, during her 33-year career at the State Department.

But she made it clear she feels at liberty to be candid about the last president she served under and how unjustly she was treated.

Yovanovitch said she was aware a president has a right to appoint and recall ambassadors, but she couldn't believe how her years of service were being rewarded by slamming her reputation.

When asked about how Ukrainians will fare in the war Russia continues to wage, Yovanovitch was optimistic.

"They value their independence; they value their freedom. They will continue to resist until the Russians give up," she said, drawing applause.

Putin thought Ukraine, a former Communist country, would want to swap "messy Democracy" for orderly autocratic rule — and he turned out to be absolutely wrong, she said.

Putin has made clear he no longer wants an international order that has rules such as respecting borders and a country's sovereignty, she said. And he won't stop with Ukraine in his efforts to revive the former Soviet empire, she added.

When asked if there was ever a moment when she was close to losing her cool during the ordeal that led to her recall from Ukraine, Yovanovitch replied, "So many times!"

She reflected briefly on how her parents' strict upbringing made her a rule follower. But she spoke of learning that following rules shouldn't make one devoid of critical thinking — suggesting this lesson came from how her Ukraine post ended.

"You need to be changing the rules if something is off," she said.