Prystaiko began his career in the
private business sector. He was a co-founder of one of the first Ukrainian
Internet providers and
electronic media Electronni Visti. In 1994, following his family's tradition of government service, he obtained a position at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of Ukraine. At that time, the Ministry was expanding rapidly as Ukraine began to negotiate with
GATT/
WTO. In 1997, he took a position in the economic section of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, where he tried to develop trade with Asian countries. It was the most important task because, at that time, the Ministry initiated negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the GATT/WTO and started to look for new opportunities for Ukrainian business in the markets, especially in Africa and Asia. In 1997, he moved to the Asia-Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2000, Prystaiko became a consul to
Sydney, Australia, where he was involved in political and economic issues. In 2002, he started working at the Foreign Policy Directorate of the Administration of the President of Ukraine
Leonid Kuchma. In December 2004, Prystaiko was appointed as a political
counselor to the
Embassy of Ukraine in Canada. Two years later, he became the acting ''chargé d'affaires'' (temporary counsel for Ukraine in Canada). In 2007, he was a part of Ukraine's NATO negotiating team and served as the Deputy Director-General for NATO in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2009, he became Deputy Chief of the Mission at the
Embassy of Ukraine in Washington D.C. On 8 November 2012, the President of Ukraine
Viktor Yanukovich appointed Prystaiko as Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada. He became also a Ukrainian representative in the
International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Michael R. Pompeo in
Kyiv, Ukraine on 31 January 2020. In December 2014, he was named Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the apparatus under Foreign Minister
Pavlo Klimkin. He was Head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO from 7 July 2017 until 29 August 2019. On 22 May 2019, Prystaiko was appointed Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration by the decree of the President of Ukraine. He was a Member of the National Investment Council (21 June 2019). On 29 August 2019, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in the Government of
Oleksiy Honcharuk. But on 4 March 2020, he was released from the post and appointed Vice Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration in the Government of
Denys Shmyhal. On 4 June 2020, he was released from this post. From 20 July 2020 to 21 July 2023, he was
Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK. On 30 December 2020, Prystaiko became a Representative of Ukraine in the
International Maritime Organization (IMO). In February 2022, during the
prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Prystaiko said UK defence secretary's
Ben Wallace's comparison of diplomatic efforts with
Russia to the
appeasement policies of the 1930s was unhelpful. Prystaiko warned, "There's panic everywhere, not just in people's minds, but in financial markets as well" and it was "hurting the Ukrainian economy on sort of the same level as people leaving the embassy". On 21 July 2023, Prystaiko was sacked as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom by President Zelenskyy using a Presidential decree. No reason as to the sacking was given. He was also sacked from his role as the Ukrainian representative to the
International Maritime Organization. ==Personal life==