Anjani Kumar Sahay. (Photo: https://www.facebook.com/Inddiplomats)
New Delhi: India has named its next ambassador to Ukraine, Anjani Kumar Sahay, a 2003-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. He is expected to take up the post in Kyiv shortly, succeeding the outgoing ambassador, Ravi Shankar, who has been reassigned as India’s next envoy to Greece.
Sahay will present his credentials to the Ukrainian government after arriving in Kyiv. The ministry gave no specific date for his departure.
The change of guard in Kyiv comes at a delicate moment. The war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, has shown little sign of abating: rounds of US-mediated talks involving Russia and Ukraine, including a trilateral meeting in Geneva in February, produced a prisoner exchange but failed to secure a ceasefire, and fighting has intensified again through the summer.
New Delhi has continued to call for a resolution through dialogue, even as it maintains trade and defence ties with Moscow, a longstanding partner, while gradually expanding cooperation with Kyiv on education, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.
As India’s envoy in Kyiv, Sahay will be responsible for managing the bilateral relationship, overseeing the welfare of the Indian community and students in Ukraine, and advancing cooperation in trade, defence and education, according to the ministry.
He currently serves as joint secretary at the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India, in New Delhi, a post he has held since August 2023. Earlier in his career, while serving as India’s ambassador to Mali, Sahay was concurrently accredited as ambassador to Mauritania, with residence in Bamako, a role he took on in 2020.
Over nearly two decades in the foreign service, he has held a range of diplomatic assignments in India and abroad, spanning both multilateral and bilateral portfolios at the ministry. Sahay’s posting is part of a broader reshuffle within India's diplomatic corps.
Ravi Shankar, a 1995-batch IFS officer, took charge of the Kyiv mission in August 2024, a period marked by intensifying Russian strikes and faltering negotiations, and went on to represent India at discussions on Ukraine’s proposed peace formula. His move to Athens is seen as part of New Delhi’s effort to deepen strategic and economic ties with Greece and the wider Mediterranean region.
Early life and education
Anjani Kumar Sahay was born and raised in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. He completed his schooling at Bishop Westcott Boys’ School, Namkum, and St Anthony’s School, Doranda, before studying arts at St Xavier’s College, Ranchi, from 1988 to 1990. Bishop Westcott Boys’ School is preparing to celebrate its centenary in 2027, marking 100 years since its establishment in 1927.
He went on to graduate in history from Shivaji College, University of Delhi, in 1996, and earned a master’s degree in sociology from the Delhi School of Economics between 1994 and 1996. He also completed a journalism course at Ranchi University between 1997 and 1999.
