Bridget Brink, who resigned earlier this year as the US Ambassador to Ukraine in protest of President Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy, has announced her candidacy for the 2026 congressional election in Michigan’s 7th District.

M Live says Bridget Brink announced on 18 June that she is running as a Democrat for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District in the upcoming 2026 election. 

In her announcement, Brink said:

“I’ve dedicated my life to public service, making the hard calls, tackling the toughest problems and holding the powerful accountable. And right now, our rights, our freedoms, our very democracy is at stake.”

Trump quietly scraps internal Russia pressure task force, Reuters sources say

Criticism of Trump’s Ukraine-Russia policies

In an op-ed published earlier, Brink voiced strong disapproval of Trump’s foreign policy.

“Unfortunately, President Trump keeps pressuring our democratic ally, Ukraine, rather than the aggressor, Russia,” she stated. “Appeasing a dictator never has, and never will, achieve a lasting peace. And it’s just not who we are.”

Ex-ambassador Brink says she quit over Trump’s Ukraine policy, calls it dangerous appeasement

From diplomacy to US politics

Brink was appointed as Ambassador to Ukraine by President Joe Biden in early 2022. Prior to that, she served as US Ambassador to Slovakia starting in 2019. Her career with the US Department of State began in 1996 and spanned various foreign policy roles in eastern European and western Asian countries.

The seat Brink is seeking is currently held by Republican Rep. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, who won it in 2024 by defeating former Democratic state Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. with 50.28% of the vote to 46.56%.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a forceful message on 5 June, highlighting the sheer scale of Russian attacks and warning global leaders that inaction emboldens the Kremlin.

In his 5 June statement, Zelenskyy revealed that since the beginning of the year, Russia has launched nearly 27,700 aerial bombs, approximately 11,200 Shahed-type explosive drones, around 9,000 other attack UAVs, and over 700 missiles, including ballistic ones.

“And that’s in less than half a year,” he noted.

He accused Russia of restructuring its entire state, society, and economy to conduct mass killings in other countries with impunity.

“This is the pace of Russian strikes, and they deliberately set this tempo from the very first days of the full-scale war,” he said.

“Russia is giving the finger to the entire world”

Reacting to Trump’s announcement of his phone call with Putin, Zelenskyy criticized ongoing diplomatic failures.

“Many have spoken with Russia at various levels. But none of these talks have brought a reliable peace,” he stated, arguing that Putin continues to feel “impunity. Even after all of Russia’s horrific attacks, he is reportedly preparing yet more so-called ‘responses’.”

He warned that delays in diplomacy only fuel further aggression.

“With every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world — to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it,” Zelenskyy said.

Warning against weakness and silence

Zelenskyy said the only way to stop Putin is by demonstrating strength.

“If the world reacts weakly to Putin’s threats, he interprets it as a readiness to turn a blind eye to his actions,” he said. “When he does not feel strength and pressure, but instead senses weakness, he always commits new crimes.”

According to the Ukrainian president, weak responses amount to silent permission for future atrocities. He thanked all international actors “who tell the killer that he will be held accountable” and stressed that “Russian missiles and bombs must stop taking innocent lives.”

“If the powerful do not stop Putin, it means they share responsibility with him,” Zelenskyy said. “And if they want to stop him but cannot, then Putin will no longer see them as powerful.”

Trump: Putin “will have to respond”

On the same day, Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that Putin warned of retaliation after Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian bomber airfields.

“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump wrote, offering no criticism of Russia’s stated intent to escalate attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

The highly successful Ukrainian Operation Spiderweb targeting Russia’s strategic bomber fleet took place on 1 June, but Trump remained silent about it until referencing Putin’s threats of retaliation.