Italy, Denmark and Sweden Expel Russian Diplomats

Following Germany and France, which expelled a large number of employees of Russian diplomatic missions the day before, other European countries announced a similar decision. Italy has declared 30 diplomats “persona non grata”. Following Germany and France, which announced the expulsion of a large number of Russian diplomats the day before, a number of other European countries made a similar decision. Amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 5, Italy declared 30 Russian diplomats “persona non grata”. These measures have been agreed with European partners, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in Berlin. According to Di Maio, the expulsion of the Russians is connected with Italian national security issues and the current crisis related to “unjustified Russian aggression against Ukraine”. Russian Ambassador Sergey Razov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome in the morning of the same day, where he was informed about the decision of the Italian authorities. Denmark and Sweden announced the expulsion of some employees of Russian embassies On the same day, Denmark expelled 15 Russian diplomats. This decision was announced by the Foreign Minister in Copenhagen, Eppe Kufud, amid reports of alleged war crimes by Russian soldiers on the territory of Ukraine. According to him, it’s about officers of the Russian special services who worked at the Russian Embassy, they must leave the country within two weeks. Denmark does not allow espionage on its territory, Kufud stressed. At the same time, the Russian ambassador and the rest of the embassy staff will be able to stay in Denmark. In turn, Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde announced the expulsion of three Russian diplomats. Joint European Initiative On the eve of Berlin, 40 Russian diplomats from 104 diplomatic workers of the Russian Federation accredited in Germany were declared persona non grata. “The pictures from Bucha testify to the incredible cruelty on the part of the Russian leadership and those who follow its propaganda,” the statement of the German Foreign Minister reads. Therefore, “the federal government has decided to declare undesirable a significant number of employees of the Russian Embassy who worked every day here in Germany against our freedom, against the cohesion of our society,” it is further stated. At the same time, Berlin warned about working together with partners on further retaliatory actions. Following Germany, France announced the expulsion of a large number of Russian diplomats on the same day. “This step is part of the European initiative,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris said. In turn, Lithuania and Latvia lowered the level of diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, ordering Russian ambassadors to leave their territories. DW