EU countries send Russian diplomats

Germany announced 40 employees of the Russian diplomatic mission in Berlin by Persons Non Grata. All of them must leave the territory of Germany.

The head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Berbok, commenting on the decision, said that the diplomats "worked against freedom and against the cohesion of society every day."

Berbock also emphasized that photographs of the dead on the streets of the city of Bucha in the suburbs of Kyiv speak of the incredible cruelty of the Russian leadership in relation to Ukrainians.

The Foreign Minister promised to tighten sanctions against Moscow, strengthen the support of the Ukrainian army and work on strengthening the eastern direction of NATO.

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova told Interfax that the expulsion of 40 Russian diplomats from Germany would not be unanswered.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, 104 Russian diplomats are accredited in total.

France also decided to send employees of Russian diplies. According to the French media, about 30 people should leave the country. Paris believes that the activities of Russians are contrary to the interests of France's security.

The Russian Foreign Ministry told Paris about return measures.

Earlier on Monday, April 4, the decision to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with Russia was made by Lithuania. Vilnius recalls his ambassador in Moscow, and also orders the Russian ambassador to leave Lithuania.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the actions of the Lithuanian authorities extremely hostile and aimed at the destruction of bilateral relations.

Following Lithuania, Latvia announced a similar decision.

• On the evening of April 2, reports began to arrive that in the suburbs of Kyiv Bucha, which the Russian military occupied for more than a month, the bodies of dozens were discovered, and possibly hundreds of civilians. Ukrainian troops occupied the city the other day, after the departure of the Russian army. After that, records appeared in the networks, which shows that some streets of the city are literally dotted with the bodies of the dead.
• Apparently, we are talking about civilians, the dead are dressed in civilian clothes, some have already recognized their acquaintances. Some of them, obviously, died during shelling, but in the photographs there are people of people with tied hands. The Ukrainian authorities accuse the Russian army of killing - this is a serious war crime.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense rejected all the allegations of the murders of civilians. The statement of the department says that all photos and video materials are a provocation and "staging the Kyiv regime for the Western media." The ministry noted that Russian troops were withdrawn from Buchi on March 30. The Ministry of Defense also refers to the mayor of Buchi Anatoly Fedoruk, who said that there were no Russian military left in the city, and who did not mention the executed civilians.