New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Senior diplomat D Bala Venkatesh Varma was today appointed as India's next ambassador to Russia, considered a high-profile posting due to expanse of strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Varma, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as Indian envoy in Spain.

He will succeed Pankaj Saran who has been appointed deputy National Security Advisor.

"Varma is expected to take up the assignment shortly," an External Affairs Ministry statement said.

Saran has been India's envoy to Russia since January 2016.

The government also appointed Partha Satpathy as next Ambassador of India to Ukraine.

A 1990 batch IFS officer, Satpathy is currently serving as joint secretary at the MEA headquarters here.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)