About 400 Russian diplomats have been expelled from 28 Western countries since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said at a meeting of the Russian Federation Council's Interim Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in the country's Internal Affairs.
"Along with the introduction of all kinds of sanctions, the favorite method of Moscow’s punishment has been the expulsion of Russian diplomats. This did not begin on February 23; it began earlier; our [Western] colleagues have been practicing this. Since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, about 400 employees of our foreign missions have been expelled from 28 Western countries. The leaders there are Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, France, Italy, and Spain," the deputy minister said.
