Russia to expel 34 out of over 90 German diplomats working in Moscow

In response to Berlin's claim that some Russian diplomats had departed Germany, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Saturday that Moscow was expelling around 34German diplomats, according to RIA Novosti.

Following the expulsion announcement of German diplomats byRussia, a German foreign ministry official said Berlin and Moscow had been in touchabout their respective representations in the last few weeks with the aim of reducing Russia’s intelligence presence in Germany, Reuters reports.

"Today's departure of Russian embassy staff is related to this," said the official. The German ministry declined to say how many Russian diplomats had left.

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Since Moscow deployed its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022 and the West responded with sanctions and weaponry for Ukraine, relations between Russia and Germany, which used to be the main customer of Russian oil and gas, have deteriorated.

Commenting on Germany's expulsions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: "We strongly condemn these actions by Berlin, which continues to demonstratively destroy the entire array of Russian-German relations."

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It claimed that its own expulsions were "reciprocal" and announced that it was going to significantly decrease the maximum staff size at German diplomatic missions.

It said that during negotiations on April 5, the ambassador of Germany was informed of the actions.

According to the German daily Bild, 34 of the 90 German diplomats still stationed in Moscow have been ordered to leave the country.

The maximum number of staff at German diplomatic missions will also be restricted, according to Moscow, which claimed that Germany's ambassador, Geza Andreas von Geyr, was informed of the measures on April 5.

Germany used to be the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas.

But since Moscow pushed its troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and the West responded with sanctions and arms for Ukraine, relations between the two nations have deteriorated.

Latest on the Russia-Ukraine war

The Donetsk region's contested city of Bakhmut has been divided into three western districts, according to the Russian army ministry.

It is believed that the soldiers that have entered Bakhmut are mercenaries from the Wagner group. The city has had numerous wars for power because it has been on the front line between Russia and Ukraine.

“The airborne troops were restraining the Ukrainian units on the flanks and supported the actions of the assault squads to capture the city,” the ministry said in its latest bulletin.

(With inputs from agencies)

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