Russia has expelled nearly 200 diplomats from various countries around the world in an approximate one-month period, lashing out at those who have condemned its invasion of Ukraine.
Since April, Russia has expelled at least 45 diplomats from Poland, 40 from Germany, 34 from France, 27 from Spain, 24 from Italy, 15 from the Netherlands and 12 from Belgium.
The mass expulsions come in a series of tit-for-tat moves in which countries expel Russian diplomats over the invasion of Ukraine and Russia retaliates with expulsions of its own.
As each country expels diplomats from the other, political relations sour and country leaders make their criticisms known.
#BREAKING Poland expels 45 Russian diplomats for espionage: official pic.twitter.com/U2DTKYt6Ee
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 23, 2022
German officials said it was expelling Russian diplomats in response to the “unbelievable brutality” of Russian forces in Ukraine, and that Russia’s expulsion of Germans in response was “in no way justified.”
Belgian officials voiced a similar response, saying Russia’s expulsion of Belgian diplomats was unjustified and only furthered “Russia’s international diplomatic isolation.”
Countries who responded to Russia’s expulsions with stronger criticisms include Italy and Spain.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in a statement, “This is clearly a hostile act. It’s also a reaction to our expulsions.”
Spain’s foreign ministry released a statement that said, “The Russian authorities justify this decision on grounds of reciprocity for the expulsion of 27 Russian embassy officials in April. But that expulsion was based on justified security reasons, which are not present in this case.”
Spain’s foreign ministry also said that when it expelled the Russian diplomats it did so because they were “a threat” to Spain’s interests and security.
Many of the expulsions that Russia has ordered in recent weeks and months have been taken as reactionary measures. Specifically, its expulsion of some 200 diplomats have widely been carried out in retaliation to an agreement reached between EU allies at the beginning of April to expel 206 Russian diplomats.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister condemned the expulsions as a “pre-coordinated campaign” against Russia. The Russian minister also stated that “this is a blow to bilateral relations, to the channels of diplomatic discussions” and that Russia would take “retaliatory measures.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, at least 325 Russian diplomats and embassy workers have been expelled from countries across the globe.
