List of ambassadors of Russia to Ukraine

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ukraine
Emblem of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Incumbent
Vacant
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy of Russia in Kyiv
StyleHis Excellency
The Honourable
Reports toMinister of Foreign Affairs
SeatKyiv
AppointerPresident of Russia
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the president
WebsiteEmbassy of Russia in Ukraine

The ambassador of Russia to Ukraine was the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the president and the government of Ukraine.

The ambassador and his staff worked at large in the Russian embassy in Kyiv. There were consulates-general in Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa.[1] Diplomatic relations were broken off following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and there are currently no official diplomatic relations between the two countries.

History of diplomatic relations

[edit]
Main article: Russia–Ukraine relations

With the process of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence on 24 August 1991, later ratified by an independence referendum on 1 December. Ukrainian indepencence was recognized by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on 5 December 1991, and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the RSFSR becoming the Russian Federation, formally established diplomatic relations on 14 February 1992.[2] Leonid Smolyakov [ru] was appointed the first ambassador on 14 February 1992. The last Russian ambassador to Ukraine was Mikhail Zurabov, who remained in post until 2016, though representation was in effect by chargé d'affaires since 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the War in Donbas that year. The remaining diplomatic staff left Ukraine on 23 February 2022, the day before the Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.[3] Ukraine broke off diplomatic relations with Russia on the day of the invasion, and they have remained suspended during the ongoing war.[4]

List of representatives of Russia to Ukraine (1991–present)

[edit]
Name Title Appointment Termination Notes
Leonid Smolyakov [ru] Ambassador 14 February 1992 24 May 1996
Yuri Dubinin Ambassador 24 May 1996 6 August 1999
Ivan Aboimov Ambassador 6 August 1999 21 May 2001
Viktor Chernomyrdin Ambassador 21 May 2001 11 June 2009
Mikhail Zurabov Ambassador 6 August 2009 28 July 2016
Andrey Vorobyov Chargé d'affaires 23 February 2014 7 June 2014
Sergey Toporov [ru] Chargé d'affaires 28 July 2016 16 November 2016
Aleksandr Lukashik [ru] Chargé d'affaires 16 November 2016 10 February 2022
Vladimir Zheglov Chargé d'affaires 10 February 2022 24 February 2022
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) - Diplomatic relations interrupted

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Russia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  2. ^ "МЗС України". 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Russia evacuates diplomats from Ukraine, takes down mission flags". Reuters. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Ukraine cuts diplomatic ties with Russia after invasion". Al Jazeera. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2025.