Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Volodymyr Yelchenko will attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on behalf of Ukraine, the country’s embassy in the U.S. said on Jan. 12.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office on Jan. 20 at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC.
Because of the pandemic, only ambassadors who are already in Washington will represent foreign countries during the inauguration, Yelchenko said.
Foreign leaders can’t meet the 46th President on Jan. 20 and will have to schedule official visits in the future.
This rule applies to all countries which have their embassies in the U.S., according to the Ukrainian embassy.
The inauguration officially marks the start of a new presidency. It usually starts with opening remarks at 11:30 Eastern Time. Biden and Harris will be sworn in at midday. Biden will move into his new home, the White House, later in the day.
Because of the pandemic, only a limited number of people can visit the ceremony. During the previous inauguration, up to 200,000 tickets were up for grabs but this year only about 1,000 tickets will be available.
Ukrainian diplomat Yelchenko will be Ukraine’s only representative at the ceremony. He has served in Washington since December 2019. Yelchenko is a career diplomat, previously serving as ambassador to Austria, Russia and the United Nations.
Earlier in November, the Ukrainian foreign ministry has officially nominated former Finance Minister Oksana Markarova to serve as the country’s next ambassador to the United States. Although the ministry has no issues with Yelchenko, it wants to follow the “principle of diplomatic rotation,” said foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.
If Yelchenko is recalled, he will have been the shortest-serving Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States in history.
