Victoria Nuland, Veteran State Department Official, to Step Down

Victoria J. Nuland, the third-ranking official at the State Department and a determined advocate of tough policies toward Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia, will retire this month after more than 30 years of government service.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced Ms. Nuland’s departure from the post of under secretary for political affairs on Tuesday in a statement noting her “fierce passion” for freedom, democracy and human rights, and America’s promotion of those causes abroad.

Mr. Blinken singled out her work on Ukraine, which he called “indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion” of the country.

Ms. Nuland held numerous State Department positions, including spokeswoman, and once served as deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. But she made her mark as a Russia specialist who long argued for marshaling strong resistance to Mr. Putin’s territorial ambitions and foreign political influence.

As the State Department’s top Russia official during the Obama administration, she argued unsuccessfully for arming Ukraine with antitank missiles, and during the Biden administration has been among the biggest proponents of sending Ukraine more and better U.S. weapons.

A skilled bureaucratic operator, she delivered her arguments with sharp wit and a bluntness that drew a mixture of admiration and fear from colleagues. “She always speaks her mind,” Mr. Blinken’s statement gently noted.