European Union allies expel over 120 Russian diplomats in two days
The Hindu
The expulsions come amid international outrage over killings in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were found over the weekend in mass graves or littering the streets
Italy, Denmark and Sweden on April 5 joined European Union (EU) allies in expelling Russian diplomats over the war in Ukraine, with more than 120 sent packing in the last 48 hours.
The expulsions come amid international outrage over killings in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were found over the weekend in mass graves or littering the streets.
"We have expelled 30 Russian diplomats for national security reasons," Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Miao told Italy's Rai television in Berlin, in news confirmed by the Ministry in Rome.
He said Russia's ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, had been summoned earlier on Tuesday "to notify him of the Italian government's decision to expel" the diplomats "as ' personae non grata'". Denmark earlier said it was expelling 15 Russian "intelligence officers" accused of spying on its territory. The government condemned what it called "Russia's brutality against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha". "Deliberate attacks against civilians are a war crime," it said.
But Russian authorities have denied the charges of civilian killings in Bucha and other locations near the capital, with its Defence Ministry on Tuesday claiming that they had been staged by Ukraine. Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said diplomatic ties would remain with Moscow, and "the Russian ambassador and the rest of the embassy in Copenhagen are therefore not included in the expulsion".
Shortly afterwards, Sweden's Foreign Ministry announced it was expelling three Russian diplomats who conducted "illegal operations" there.
"Today the Foreign Ministry has decided to expel three Russian diplomats who are not working in Sweden in concordance with the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations," Foreign Minister Ann Linde said.
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