Ukraine President Zelenskyy awards highest diplomatic rank to Speaker Stefanchuk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree assigning the highest possible diplomatic rank to Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. Under decree № 831/2026, Stefanchuk has been granted the rank of ‘ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary’.

This designation is an elevation of status and rank rather than an appointment to a specific foreign embassy. Stefanchuk will maintain his current position as Speaker of Parliament while gaining the right to use a diplomatic passport for himself and his spouse.

Additionally, the decree assigned the rank of ‘envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the second class’ to Ihor Ostash, the director of the Hennadiy Udovenko Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.