Yesterday, Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of “more than 20” German diplomats from Russia, in response to a similar move by Berlin, but Germany has not confirmed it. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “German authorities have carried out another collective expulsion of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Germany,” strongly condemning Berlin’s actions, which “continue to damage the entire Russian-German relationship.”
The Russian state information agency reported that Germany would expel more than 20 Russian diplomats, without citing a source. A German foreign ministry official said Berlin and Moscow had been in contact over the past few weeks about the size of their diplomatic representation, adding that the arrival of a Russian government plane in Berlin was related to the matter. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said Moscow notified the German ambassador in Moscow of the measures on April 5.
The German Foreign Ministry said it had “taken note of Zakharova’s statements”. He added that “the central government and the Russian side have been in contact in recent weeks regarding issues related to staff in their respective missions abroad,” without elaborating.
In a related context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of new military units amid expectations that Kiev would launch a counterattack against Russian forces. “We are already preparing to deploy new battalions and units to the front,” Zelensky said. He said his meetings with civil servants focused on providing all means to “liberate Ukraine from Russian aggression.” “Everyone in Ukraine must understand that the main task of the state is to end the occupation of our lands,” he said, stressing that “the front line is a high priority.”
Moscow and Berlin exchange joint diplomatic evacuations