Italy expelled more than two dozen Russian diplomats, the country announced Tuesday, joining a growing list of nations retaliating diplomatically for Russian actions they say amount to war crimes.
Italy’s decision to kick out 30 Russian diplomats, citing the security threat they posed, followed Denmark and Sweden, each responding to the Bucha massacre by expelling dozens of diplomats on Monday and Tuesday.
“We have expelled 30 Russian diplomats for national security reasons,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
“The measure is in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners and is necessary for reasons linked to our national security and in the context of the current crisis caused by the unjustified aggression against Ukraine on the part of the Russian Federation,” Di Maio continued.
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The West has been waging a diplomatic war on Russia in an effort to stave off military conflict. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army invaded Ukraine in February, countries in the European Union have expelled more than 230 diplomats.
Denmark said it was expelling 15 “intelligence officers” for spying, though Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said the country did want to keep diplomatic ties open with Russia, allowing Russia’s ambassador and other members of the embassy to remain in the country.
Sweden announced it was expelling three diplomats for conducting “illegal operations,” claiming the diplomats were “not working in Sweden in concordance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.”
Earlier this week, Spain also said it was expelling roughly 25 diplomats and embassy staffers, saying they represented “a threat to the interests and security of our country,” and France and Germany have expelled more than 35 Russian diplomats each.
The Kremlin said the expulsions were “short-sighted” and signaled it would retaliate.
“Narrowing down opportunities for diplomatic communication in such an unprecedentedly difficult crisis environment is a short-sighted move that will further complicate our communication, which is necessary to find a solution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
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International tensions simmered following the Bucha massacre in which hundreds of bodies were found stuffed into sewers and shallow graves in the Kyiv suburb last weekend. Russia claims that Ukrainians planted bodies in the streets, but Western leaders rejected those claims, with the European Union announcing an investigation into the “heinous crimes.”
The United Nations Security Council also denied Russia’s request Monday to meet and discuss claims of “provocation by Ukrainian radicals” in the suburb, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying during a tour of Bucha that it was “very difficult to talk when you see what they’ve done here.”
