The list of expelled Russian diplomats is growing. After France and Germany on Monday, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark announced on Tuesday April 5 a massive dismissal ofe Russian diplomats. In total, according to an AFP count, nearly 200 Russian diplomats based in Europe are being expelled.
>> War in Ukraine: follow the evolution of the conflict in our live
The most recent deportation decisions come after the discovery of dozens of corpses of civilians in Boutcha and other localities northwest of kyiv, marking a further deterioration in diplomatic relations with Moscow.
Who fired Russian diplomats?
France and Germany on Monday joined the list of European countries that have decided to send Russian diplomats back. According to a brief press release from the Quai d’Orsay, French diplomacy has decided to expel “many Russian personnel with diplomatic status assigned to France whose activities are contrary to our security interests”. “This action is part of a European approach”specifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without giving the exact number of people concerned.
In Germany, according to AFP, around forty Russian diplomats stationed in Berlin, the German capital, have been ordered to leave the country. These employees of the Russian Embassy constituted “a threat to those who seek protection with us”, said Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister. “We won’t tolerate it anymore”she added in a written statement.
For its part, Italy announced on Tuesday the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats for reasons of “national security”. Spain made the same decision for 25 people. “The ambassador is not included because we want to give dialogue a chance”, said José Manuel Albares, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs. In Denmark, “fifteen intelligence officers [qui] carried out espionage activities” are ordered to leave the country, while three diplomats have been expelled from Sweden.
Which countries had already made this decision?
The waltz of departures was initiated by the United States, which expelled twelve Russian diplomats from the UN, for “spying”, from February 28. The expulsions accelerated from mid-March, with the joint announcement of the Baltic countries of the dismissal of ten Russian diplomats. On Twitter, March 18the Latvian Foreign Minister announced the expulsion of “three employees of the Russian Embassy due to activities contrary to their diplomatic status”. Lithuania and Estonia had sent back four and three Russian diplomats respectively.
And it spread, with Poland, Belgium, Ireland, Slovakia and the Netherlands following in their footsteps. Warsaw thus expelled “45 Russian spies pretending to be diplomats”. On March 29, Brussels gave 21 people working for the Russian embassy and consulate based in Antwerp 15 days to leave the country. All were suspected of involvement “in operations of espionage and influence”, according to the head of Belgian diplomacy. The Netherlands justify their decision to expel 17 intelligence officers “because of the threat to national security posed by this group” and of “the current attitude of Russia at large”according to France 24.
What are the reasons for these referrals?
These evictions come the day after the discovery of dozens of bodies in the streets or mass graves of Boutcha after the withdrawal of Russian troops. According to the head of Spanish diplomacy Jose Manuel Albares, this decision is directly linked to the “terrible events of the last days in Ukraine, Bucha and Mariupol”.
>> War in Ukraine: in Boutcha, the Russian army leaves the horror behind
For MEP Bernard Guetta (LREM), these expulsions are a “political signal” sent to Russia. “We are coming to these mass expulsions because, these spooks, we can no longer tolerate their presence in a political climate which is obviously completely different, especially after the revelations about the mass murders of civilians that the Russian army has committed. around Kyiv”he explained on franceinfo.
On Monday, the Lithuanian government decided to go further by expelling the ambassador of the Russian Federation and closing the Russian consulate located in Klaipeda, a port city where 20% of the inhabitants are Russians. A decision “in response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in various occupied Ukrainian cities”, declared the head of the Lithuanian diplomacy.
How is Russia reacting?
The Kremlin, which rejects all responsibility for the massacres perpetrated in the kyiv region, reacted strongly to these sanctions and let it be known that she would retaliate. “It is clear that this is a campaign coordinated in advance”castigated the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister on Tuesday. “This is a blow to bilateral relations, to the channels of diplomatic discussions”he added, considering that “The consequences will be felt for a very long time”.
The German expulsion, judged “unfriendly”goes “deteriorate” relations between Berlin and Moscow, replied the Russian embassy in Berlin on Telegram, denouncing a “unfounded reduction of diplomatic staff”. “We expressed our categorical rejection of the unilateral accusations by Berlin, which hastened to side with kyiv, without even waiting for an independent investigation into the events in Boutcha”she continued.
As for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from Vilnius, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced a measure “extremely unfriendly” and accused Lithuania of wanting “destroy bilateral relations”. In response, Moscow is considering “soon” retaliatory measures.