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Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that its ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, died suddenly in Moscow at age 66. The ministry said he had been in the post for about a year and a half after his appointment in March 2025, and it called him an outstanding diplomat and a kind colleague. He previously served as ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021 and headed the ministry's North America department from 2021 to 2024, and he was regarded as a specialist in Russia-US relations. The ministry did not give a cause of death in its announcement. The US State Department confirmed that Darchiev died on Wednesday in Moscow, offering condolences to his family and referring questions about his death to the Russian government. Kyiv Post reported that his appointment came shortly after Donald Trump returned to power and several years into Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, which has pitted Russia against the West. When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, Darchiev had called the move a necessary measure.