Italy has decided to expel 30 Russian diplomats for reasons of “national securitysaid Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday April 5, speaking in Berlin on the Italian news channel RaiNews24. This decision by Italy follows similar measures taken on Monday by Germany and France, and Tuesday morning by Denmark.
LIVE – War in Ukraine: France expels 35 Russian diplomats
“This measure, taken by mutual agreement with our European and Atlantic partners, was made necessary for reasons linked to our national security and in the context of the current crisis situation linked to the unjustified aggression of Ukraine by the Russian Federation“, declared the head of Italian diplomacy, whose remarks were confirmed to AFP by the press service of the ministry. This measure was notified to the Russian ambassador in Rome by the secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the same source.
Earlier in the day, Denmark announced the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats accused of “spy“. Westerners expressed their outrage this weekend after the discovery of dozens of bodies wearing civilian clothes in Boutcha, northwest of kyiv, following the withdrawal of the Russians who loosened the noose on the capital.