France, Germany and Lithuania began expelling a number of Russian diplomats against the backdrop of the war on Ukraine, and what happened in Bucha in particular, amid mounting Western calls for more sanctions against Moscow.
While France decided to expel several members of the Russian diplomatic staff in Paris, German Foreign Minister Annallina Birbock said on Monday that her country had decided to expel a "large number" of Russian diplomats against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, and Lithuania announced the expulsion of the Russian ambassador.
Birbock stressed that these employees of the Russian embassy - and the French Press Agency reported that their number is up to 40 - constitute "a threat to those who are looking for protection with us," adding in a brief statement, "We will not allow this any longer."
The same agency added that the German authorities suspected that these diplomats, who would be expelled, were working for the Russian intelligence services, and they had 5 days to leave Germany.
The expulsions follow similar announcements in recent days from several countries in the European Union.
For its part, Lithuania announced today, Monday, the expulsion of the Russian ambassador in Vilnius, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the atrocities that Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Russian soldiers of committing.
"In response to the Russian military aggression against sovereign Ukraine and the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in occupied Ukrainian cities, including Bucha, the Lithuanian government has decided to reduce diplomatic representation, and therefore the ambassador of the Russian Federation will have to leave," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielus Landsbergis told reporters.
The response came quickly from the Russian Foreign Ministry, where a spokeswoman for the ministry, Maria Zakharova, told AFP that Russian measures would follow that decision quickly.
For his part, Landsbergis indicated that Lithuania would close the Moscow consulate in Klaipeda, a port city where 20% of the population is of Russian origin.
Russia denies allegations that it killed civilians in Bucha, and has said the photographs of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town were "on orders" from the United States as part of a plot to blame Moscow.