The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a senior Ukrainian-born Russian official was now in charge of managing Moscow's relations with Ukraine, a move likely to be seen by some politicians in Kiev as further evidence of a slight thaw in ties.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, was now the most senior Kremlin official when it came to Ukraine.
Kozak, a lawyer by education, was born in what used to be Soviet Ukraine.
Vladislav Surkov, seen as a hardliner by many in Kiev, had previously overseen Russia's relations with Ukraine, a role that saw him negotiate and advise Putin on the subject. Peskov said Surkov still worked for the Kremlin, but did not elaborate.