Germany expels dozens of Russian diplomats, accuses Moscow of war crimes

BERLIN (AA) - Germany has decided to expel dozens of Russian diplomats in response to "the war crimes committed in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement that Germany has taken this step to demonstrate its stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutality” in Ukraine, following reports of atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

“The Federal Government has decided today to declare a significant number of the Russian Embassy staff as persona non grata, who have worked every day against our freedom and against the cohesion of our society here in Germany,” Baerbock said.

“Your work is a threat to those who seek shelter with us. We will no longer tolerate this. We’ve told this to the Russian Ambassador this afternoon. We will also take further actions together with our partners,” she added.

The Foreign Ministry did not announce the exact number of Russian diplomats who have been declared persona non grata, but the German news agency DPA reported that the government has ordered the expulsion of 40 diplomats.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday visited Bucha, where Ukrainian troops have reportedly found bodies of civilians, following the withdrawal of Russian troops.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said 410 civilian bodies were recovered from areas in the wider Kyiv region.

Meanwhile, the Russian government has denied that its troops killed civilians while withdrawing from towns near Kyiv.

The footage of slain civilians was staged, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday during a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths.

Russia’s war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK among others implementing tough sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,430 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,097 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.21 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.