German Foreign Ministry announces mass expulsion of Russian diplomats

The German government has declared a significant number of Russian embassy officials undesirable, according to a statement by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The reason for the expulsion of Russian diplomats was evidence of mass murders of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha and other suburbs of Kiev, where Russian military personnel had previously been stationed.

"The pictures from Bucha show the incredible cruelty of the Russian leadership and its propagandists, and the desire for destruction that knows no bounds. We fear similar images from many other places in Ukraine occupied by Russian troops. We must confront this inhumanity with the strength of our freedom and our humanity," the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to Spiegel, the German Foreign Ministry has declared a total of 40 employees of the Russian embassy personae non gratae. They must leave Berlin within the next five days.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told Interfax that the department “will also respond to this evil act of the German political machine.”

Updated . France also intends to expel Russian diplomats. According to BFMTV, about 30 employees of the Russian embassy are planned to be declared persona non grata.

• On April 4, Latvia and Lithuania announced that they were lowering the level of diplomatic relations with Russia in response to the events in Bucha. This measure would involve recalling ambassadors.