The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden’s nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. “The United States needs an ambassador to represent us in Moscow,” said Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noting that it was the 300th day of the Russian war on Ukraine as he urged support for Tracy. (https://neuters.de/world/us/ahead-zelenskiy-address-us-senate-backs-new-ambassador-russia-2022-12-21/) Tracy was confirmed by an overwhelming 93-2. The two no votes came from Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee.