Russia expels 40 German diplomats in retaliatory move

MOSCOW

Russia on Monday declared 40 German diplomats persona non grata in a retaliatory move, amid continued diplomatic fallout from the two-month-old war in Ukraine.

"On April 25, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Russian Federation Geza Andreas von Geyr was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry,” said a ministry statement on its website.

Von Geyr “was strongly protested in connection with the openly unfriendly decision of the German government dated April 4, 2022 to declare ‘persona non grata’ 40 employees of Russian diplomatic institutions in Germany," it added.

The ministry said the German move was motivated "by an absolutely false statement that the work of these employees was aimed at undermining the ‘freedom of Germany’ and ‘unity of German society,’ as well as insinuations regarding what is happening in Ukraine."

"The German ambassador was handed a note declaring ‘persona non grata’ 40 employees of German diplomatic institutions in Russia as a symmetrical response to the above-mentioned decision of the German government," the ministry said.

At least 2,435 civilians have been killed and 2,946 injured in Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 5.1 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7.7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency.