Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that the country was expelling 40 German diplomatic staff.

The German government believes that the move is in retaliation for its expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats on April 4.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement on Monday that the 40 expelled members of the Russian missions had never worked as diplomats during their time in Germany. She added that instead, they "had striven systematically for years to undermine our freedom and cohesion in our society."

She said that in contrast, the German diplomatic staff being expelled from Russia had done nothing wrong.
She noted that they went to Russia to serve bilateral relations, despite adverse circumstances there. She said, "Russia has thus inflicted further damage on itself."

Russian media, including the state-run news agency TASS, reported that about 400 Russian diplomatic staff in 28 countries have been expelled since the military operation began in Ukraine. Russia has warned about a retaliatory move.