Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Vsevolod Tkachenko, a veteran diplomat with more than 40 years of experience, as Russia's new ambassador to Kenya.

The decision may be the latest sign of Moscow's interest in a place that also hosts the UN's only headquarters in the southern hemisphere. Mr Tkachenko is fluent in Kiswahili, one of the official languages of both Kenya and Tanzania, and is widely spoken in the Great Lakes region.

He was initially named as the new envoy to Ethiopia and the African Union, according to an earlier dispatch published by Russian state media in June.

The new dispatch published on Tuesday shows that he will also take on the traditional role of Russia's permanent representative to the UN in Nairobi.

Mr Tkachenko replaces Dmitry Maksimychev, who has held the post since 2018.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Tkachenko was director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Africa Department, a position he has held since 2020.

A graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Mr Tkachenko began his diplomatic career in East Africa in the 1980s, with postings in Kampala and Harare.

His appointment comes at a time when Moscow is actively renewing its ties with African countries, but is also being challenged by the West, led by the US. In particular, Russia came under fire for invading Ukraine in February 2022, a decision that was heavily criticised by the West and allies such as Kenya at the time. Kenya later tinkered with this stance, calling instead for peaceful means to resolve the conflict and supporting the African Union's attempts to mediate the conflict last year. Those attempts, led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Comorian counterpart Azali Assoumani (who was chairing the African Union), failed.

The appointment of the new envoy coincides with the appointment of Peter Mathuki as Nairobi's new ambassador to Moscow.

Dr Mathuki, a former Secretary-General of the East African Community (EAC), has come under increasing scrutiny over allegations of corruption during his leadership of the regional bloc.

Mathuki was at the centre of controversy over the misappropriation of a $6.6 million peace fund allocation, intimidation and reassignment of secretariat staff. However, he maintained his innocence and was never actually impeached by the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), despite earlier threats by MPs to do so.

Nevertheless, he became the first EAC secretary-general to be recalled by his government before the end of his five-year term, having been appointed during the 21st Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State in March 2021.