Ukraine blames Russia for the murder of hundreds of civilians in Bucha, a city belonging to the Kiev oblast that was abandoned by Russian troops on March 30. Moscow dismissed these accusations as a new provocation by Kiev that harms the talks and intensifies hostilities between the two sides involved in the ongoing conflict.
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According to the announcement by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a considerable number of Russian diplomats will be dismissed due to the unbelievable brutality that Moscow is said to have inflicted in the city of Bucha. The Russian embassy in Germany said that 40 diplomats will be affected by the decision.
The senior official referred to the individuals on the Russian embassy staff as people "who have worked every day here in Germany against German freedom and the cohesion of our society," stating that the German government will declare them persona non grata.
The German Foreign Minister said that other partners worldwide would also take action on the matter, and further suggested that sanctions against Russia will be widened. Several Western countries have promptly presumed that Russia is guilty and blamed it for perpetrating bloody crimes in Bucha, regardless of the unverified evidence and the lack of a proper investigation.
Commenting on the German government's decision to declare Russian diplomats persona non grata in Germany, the Russian Foreign Ministry promised Moscow would respond appropriately. The ministry said that Germany's political machine had made a perverse move.
Russia's Defense Ministry, for its part, said that the footage and photos allegedly showing civilian bodies dumped in the city streets had been filmed with cameras, noting that Russian troops left the city on March 30 and its mayor did not report the presence of dead bodies in the streets the following day after confirming the Russian troops' withdrawal.
The Defense Ministry added that cell phone networks were not cut when Russian troops were in Bucha and that reports of civilian casualties came only four days after Russian troops abandoned the city.