Ten Russian embassy staff told to leave Portugal
The Portuguese government explained that the "activities" of those officials were "contrary to national security" and that the government had notified the Russian ambassador.
Portugal declared 10 employees of the diplomatic mission of the Russian embassy in Lisbon ‘persona non grata’, giving them two weeks to leave the country, the ministry of foreign affairs announced on Tuesday.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the ministry led by João Gomes Cravinho explained that the “activities” of those officials were “contrary to national security” and that the government had notified the Russian ambassador “this afternoon”.
The government emphasised that none of the officials expelled from the country was a career diplomat and stressed its “firm and vehement condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukrainian territory”.
The Portuguese foreign ministry’s decision follows several other European countries, which have announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats in recent days.
According to the French news agency AFP this afternoon, at least 260 Russian diplomats have been expelled from various European Union countries since the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian presidency (Kremlin) has deplored these moves, saying that this would only hamper communication possibilities on a diplomatic level when “conditions are already difficult”.
This “denotes a lack of vision that will further complicate” relations between Russia and the European Union, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press.
“And this will inevitably lead to retaliatory measures,” he added.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24 that has killed at least 1,480 civilians, including 165 children, and wounded 2,195, including 266 minors, according to the latest figures from the UN, which warned that the actual number of civilian casualties is likely to be much higher.
The war has caused an undetermined number of military casualties and the flight of more than 11 million people, including 4.2 million to neighbouring countries.
This is the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), and the United Nations estimates that some 13 million people need humanitarian assistance.
The Russian invasion has been condemned by the international community in general, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and strengthening economic and political sanctions against Moscow.
