Sweden expels five Russian diplomats

Sweden expels five Russian diplomats, the country’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told SVT Nyheter. According to the minister, the Russian diplomats have been ordered to leave Sweden because their activities in the country were incompatible with their diplomatic status.

As SVT specifies, the Swedish Foreign Ministry notified Russian Ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev of the expulsion of the diplomats on April 25. The Russian ambassador declined to comment on the situation. Sweden last expelled Russian diplomats in April 2022. At the time, three diplomats, suspected by local authorities of working for Russian intelligence, left Sweden.

On April 13, 2023, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry expelled 15 members of the Russian embassy. The ministry also said in a statement that the Russian embassy officials had engaged in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.

On April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported the “mass” expulsion of Russian diplomats from Germany, to which the Russian office promised to give a “mirror” response. According to the German newspaper Bild, the Russian Foreign Ministry intends to expel 34 of the approximately 90 German diplomats working in Moscow.