MOSCOW (Reuters) -Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, will soon leave her post, her embassy said on Thursday, after serving through one of the most tense and difficult periods in relations between Moscow and Washington.

Tracy, a career diplomat, arrived in Moscow in January 2023 and was greeted by protesters chanting anti-U.S. slogans when she went to the Foreign Ministry to present her credentials. Russia had questioned her suitability for the post, suggesting she might feel more at home in a hawkish think-tank.

Her term was dominated by the Ukraine war, which plunged U.S.-Russia ties to a level described by the Kremlin last year as "below zero".

She was notably involved in efforts to win the release of U.S. citizens jailed in Russia including journalist Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan, who were eventually freed in August 2024 as part of a big East-West prisoner swap.

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, Russia and the U.S. have launched a series of contacts aimed at improving relations. Russia's new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, formally presented his credentials to Trump on Wednesday.

Both sides say there is huge potential for business and investment deals if relations improve, though Trump has voiced frustration about Russia's war actions in Ukraine and the lack of any visible progress towards a peace deal.

Tracy's tenure is likely to be similar in duration to her predecessor, John Sullivan, who served as ambassador for two years and seven months from February 2020 to September 2022.

Reuters could not immediately reach the U.S. embassy in Moscow for additional comment.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow and Mark Trevelyan)