The Russian Foreign Ministry has expelled 45 Polish embassy staff, on Friday, in the latest removal of diplomats since Moscow launched its military offensive in Ukraine, six weeks ago.
Officials also issued a “strong protest” to Polish ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski over Poland’s expulsion of 45 Russian envoys last month, and condemned what was described as “Warsaw’s conscious desire to completely destroy bilateral relations.”
“As a response to Poland’s unfriendly actions to expel Russian diplomats, based on the principle of reciprocity, 45 employees of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the consulates general of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, and St. Petersburg have been declared ‘persona non grata’,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The responsibility for this lies entirely with the Polish side,” the ministry continued, adding that the expelled employees have been ordered to leave Russia before the end of the day on April 13.
In a similar move, Russian authorities earlier on Friday declared kicked out two Bulgarian diplomats.