Russia expels 10 Romanian diplomats in tit-for-tat move

Russia on Friday expelled 10 Romanian diplomats in response to similar expulsions by Bucharest.

Moscow’s foreign ministry added that it rejected Romanian attempts to blame Russia for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

In a separate statement, the ministry said a member of the Bulgarian embassy was also being expelled.

The moves were part of a series of tit-for-tat expulsions by Russia after more than 300 of its diplomats were kicked out of European capitals in the wake of its military campaign in Ukraine.

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Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into its neighbour on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade Kyiv’s military capabilities and root out “fascism”.

Ukraine denied posing a threat to Russia and said the fascism allegation was a baseless pretext for unprovoked aggression.

Its forces had mounted stiff resistance and Western countries had imposed sweeping sanctions in an effort to force Russia to withdraw.