The German government on Monday declared 40 Russian diplomats ‘undesirable persons,’ an act that is tantamount to expulsion from the country, Al Jazeera reported.
The announcement by foreign minister Annalena Baerbock follows similar moves by European partners in recent days as a reaction to Russia’s war on its neighbour Ukraine.
Also, France has said it would expel some Russian diplomats as part of a joint European action after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“France decided this evening to expel a number of Russian personnel with diplomatic status stationed in France whose activities are against our security interests,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
A French ministry source, who asked not to be named, according to AFP news agency, said 35 Russian diplomats would be expelled. Earlier on Monday, Lithuania expelled its Russian ambassador.
Ms Baerbock said Germany’s move was a response to the “unbelievable brutality” the Kremlin had unleashed in Ukraine.
“The images from Bucha speak to unbelievable brutality by the Russian leadership and by those who follow its propaganda with a boundless will to exterminate,” Ms Baerbock said, referring to the town near Kyiv where dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets following the withdrawal of Russian forces.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it will respond to Germany’s decision to expel 40 Russian diplomats, the Interfax news agency reported.
The Kremlin has denied Western allegations that Russian forces were responsible for killing civilians in Bucha.
“This information must be seriously questioned,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other fakes.”
