Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darkiyev died in Moscow at the age of 66 after battling chronic illness, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement that Darkiyev “passed away suddenly” and described him as an “extraordinary professional.”
The ministry statement added: “Alexander Dalkiev worked in one of the most demanding areas of Russian foreign policy.” “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Alexander Dalkiyev.”
The Russian ambassador left the embassy in Washington, D.C., and returned to Moscow, where he was receiving treatment for a long-term illness, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Darkiyev is a veteran diplomat known for his scathing criticism of the West and has been the ambassador to Washington since March 2025. His tenure was marked by a mending of U.S.-Russian relations as President Donald Trump began bilateral talks with Russia and reduced aid to Ukraine.
In December 2022, Darkiyev claimed that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier that year was a “necessary step to prevent a scenario of de facto genocide against Russians in the former Ukrainian territory,” repeating unsubstantiated claims made by Russia regarding Russian-speakers in the occupied territories of Ukraine as a pretext for the attack. In an interview with Russia’s state news agency TASS, the official accused former US President Joe Biden’s administration of “effectively refusing to discuss Russia’s security proposals” in the context of NATO expansion.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN that the US was aware of Darkiyev’s death and offered his condolences to his family and loved ones.
According to the Russian Embassy in the United States, Darkiyev previously served as Director of the North Atlantic Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Washington and as Russia’s Ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021.
Nearly 10 years ago, another Russian diplomat died suddenly at the age of 64. UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin died of cardiac arrest in 2017, the day before his 65th birthday.
According to the World Bank, the average life expectancy of Russian men is 68 years.
This story has been updated.
