Sept. 4 (UPI) — John Sullivan, the United States ambassador to Russia, announced Sunday that he has left the post and will retire from public service.
“U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation John J. Sullivan has concluded his tenure as U.S. envoy and departed Moscow today,” the U.S. Embassy in Russia said in a statement.
Sullivan, 62, was nominated by former President Donald Trump to serve as the top U.S. diplomat in Russia in October 2019 and assumed office in February 2020.
His resignation comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Sullivan had previously briefly left the country in April 2021 amid rising tensions, Russian state media reported at the time, after the Kremlin requested that the U.S. bring him home.
At the time, Russia had announced the expulsion of ten diplomats from the United States in retaliation for sanctions placed on Russian diplomats.
Sullivan’s career in public service spanned four decades through five U.S. presidents, including service as the deputy secretary of state and in senior positions at the Justice Department, Defense Department and Commerce Department.
The Embassy said that Elizabeth Rood will assume duties as Charge d’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Moscow until Sullivan’s successor arrives.
A 9-year-old boy was killed and at least 10 people were seriously injured in a Russian rocket strike in the southern Ukrainian town of Zelenodolsk as Ukrainian forces have pushed their counteroffensive in the south of the country.
The news of the rocket strike Saturday came as a report from Conflict Armament Research, an independent armed conflict investigation group based in Britain, revealed that Russia has been using outdated foreign technology in its advanced missile systems and helicopters.